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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. bark — to shout
  3. ground — crushed
  4. ground — a position
  5. shower — to wash
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bound — certain
  8. swing — in golf
  9. bound — obliged
  10. court — of law
  11. ground — the earth
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. court — of a king
  15. rush — hurry
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. swing — to play on
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. chair — a leader
  21. bound — tied together
  22. shower — rain
  23. swing — music
  24. chair — a professorship

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