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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. current — electric
  3. current — of water
  4. sharp — clever
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. dip — to sink
  7. current — happening now
  8. hand — help
  9. hand — in cards
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. scale — size or range
  12. court — for sport
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. pit — in a race
  15. court — of a king
  16. scale — in music
  17. spring — a coil
  18. spring — of water
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. spring — the season
  21. pit — a hole
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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