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 116 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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. last — final
  3. kick — in football
  4. perch — the fish
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. degree — temperature
  11. lean — thin
  12. game — a match
  13. court — of a king
  14. last — to go on
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. lean — to bend
  20. game — wild animals
  21. last — finally
  22. degree — an amount
  23. degree — from a university
  24. court — for 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