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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. land — to come down
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. mine — for digging
  6. court — of law
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. cold — not warm
  11. land — a country
  12. cold — an illness
  13. court — for sport
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. land — ground
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. plane — a tool
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. vault — a safe
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. dip — to sink
  24. dip — to dunk

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