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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. rash — hasty
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. date — the fruit
  8. chair — a leader
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. saw — the tool
  12. degree — temperature
  13. court — of a king
  14. degree — from a university
  15. press — to push
  16. press — newspapers
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. degree — an amount
  19. press — a publisher
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. rash — a series
  23. court — of law
  24. saw — the 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