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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. cap — a hat
  3. court — of a king
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. mate — to breed
  6. pit — in a race
  7. net — after costs
  8. mate — a friend
  9. hand — in cards
  10. cap — a lid
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. swing — in golf
  13. mate — a partner
  14. hand — help
  15. snap — to click
  16. cap — of ice
  17. court — of law
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. pit — a hole
  20. swing — to play on
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. net — in sport
  23. swing — music
  24. net — for catching

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