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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. squash — to crush
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. spell — letters
  5. spell — magic
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. sharp — clever
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. court — for sport
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. chair — a leader
  14. wax — to grow
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. wind — moving air
  17. spell — a short time
  18. wind — moving air
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. court — of a king
  22. bat — the animal
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. court — of law

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