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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. court — of a king
  3. pop — music
  4. present — the time now
  5. ground — crushed
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. pop — to visit
  8. kid — child
  9. band — a ring
  10. ground — the earth
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. present — there
  14. court — of law
  15. present — a gift
  16. court — for sport
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. band — a music group
  19. rest — what's left
  20. rest — what's left
  21. ground — a position
  22. pop — soda
  23. rest — a break
  24. wave — of the sea

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