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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. spring — the season
  3. tear — to rip
  4. rush — hurry
  5. court — of a king
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. spring — a coil
  8. wound — an injury
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. wound — an injury
  14. chair — a leader
  15. stand — to bear
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. court — for sport
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. tear — from crying
  21. court — of law
  22. tear — from crying
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. spring — of water

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