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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. court — for sport
  3. face — to point toward
  4. squash — to crush
  5. face — to confront
  6. last — final
  7. last — finally
  8. fall — to drop
  9. plane — a tool
  10. game — a match
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. tear — from crying
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. tear — to rip
  15. tear — from crying
  16. court — of a king
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. fall — to drop
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. face — part of the head
  21. game — wild animals
  22. court — of law
  23. last — to go on
  24. squash — the sport

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