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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. rest — what's left
  3. land — ground
  4. rest — a break
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. court — for sport
  7. land — to come down
  8. plane — a tool
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. rest — what's left
  11. game — wild animals
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. court — of law
  14. court — of a king
  15. mine — for digging
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. land — a country
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. season — in sport
  22. season — of the year
  23. game — a match
  24. mine — an explosive

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