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 116 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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. squash — the sport
  5. ground — the earth
  6. ground — crushed
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. branch — a division
  10. court — for sport
  11. squash — to crush
  12. band — a ring
  13. court — of law
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. ground — a position
  16. band — a music group
  17. content — happy
  18. row — to paddle
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. row — a line
  21. content — the amount
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. safe — a strongbox

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