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 120 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 water is too ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. court — of a king
  4. bound — tied together
  5. cold — an illness
  6. bound — obliged
  7. ground — crushed
  8. can — to be able to
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. bound — certain
  11. can — a tin
  12. march — music
  13. ground — the earth
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. march — the month
  18. ground — a position
  19. chair — a leader
  20. can — a tin
  21. foot — a measure
  22. court — of law
  23. court — for sport
  24. march — the month

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