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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. game — a match
  3. ground — crushed
  4. court — of a king
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. tear — from crying
  8. wind — moving air
  9. court — for sport
  10. cell — in biology
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. game — wild animals
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. wind — moving air
  15. ground — a position
  16. cell — a phone
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. court — of law
  19. ground — the earth
  20. tear — to rip
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. pitch — completely
  23. tear — from crying
  24. wind — to turn a key

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