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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. court — of a king
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. field — a subject
  5. bank — of a river
  6. land — a country
  7. land — to come down
  8. bound — obliged
  9. last — finally
  10. bank — for money
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. bat — the animal
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. court — for sport
  15. bank — for money
  16. bound — certain
  17. sharp — clever
  18. bound — tied together
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. court — of law
  21. last — to go on
  22. field — farmland
  23. field — for sport
  24. land — ground

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