ClueBy
TodayArchiveWord list

Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
YesNo
↻ New worksheet

Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. game — a match
  3. court — for sport
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. spring — the season
  6. lie — to recline
  7. last — finally
  8. spring — of water
  9. file — a document
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. spring — a coil
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. game — wild animals
  15. mate — a partner
  16. mate — a friend
  17. court — of law
  18. file — a line of people
  19. court — of a king
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. pass — a permit
  22. mate — to breed
  23. last — to go on
  24. file — a tool

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com