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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. land — to come down
  5. court — of a king
  6. row — to paddle
  7. fork — in a road
  8. face — to confront
  9. game — a match
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. game — wild animals
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. pitch — completely
  14. row — a line
  15. last — finally
  16. last — final
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. face — to point toward
  19. land — a country
  20. court — for sport
  21. last — to go on
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. court — of law
  24. face — part of the head

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