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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. wind — moving air
  3. court — of a king
  4. last — to go on
  5. land — ground
  6. shower — to wash
  7. roll — a cake
  8. cue — a signal
  9. cue — for pool
  10. roll — a list
  11. wind — moving air
  12. land — to come down
  13. shower — rain
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. last — finally
  16. land — a country
  17. court — of law
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. court — for sport
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. last — final
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. cue — a hint

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