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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. mug — a face
  4. wound — an injury
  5. field — farmland
  6. court — of law
  7. rock — music
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. field — for sport
  11. wound — an injury
  12. fine — all right
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. field — a subject
  15. court — of a king
  16. march — the month
  17. march — music
  18. mug — to rob
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. march — the month
  21. mug — a cup
  22. fine — high quality
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. rock — a stone

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