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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. spring — of water
  3. court — for sport
  4. fine — all right
  5. capital — a city
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. last — final
  10. capital — money
  11. last — to go on
  12. court — of law
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. fine — high quality
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wind — moving air
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. fork — in a road
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. last — finally
  21. spring — the season
  22. spring — a coil
  23. wind — moving air
  24. fork — a garden 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