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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  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. pit — in a race
  2. land — to come down
  3. band — a music group
  4. scale — size or range
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. land — a country
  7. scale — in music
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. band — a ring
  12. pit — a hole
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. dip — to sink
  15. court — for sport
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. land — ground
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. court — of a king
  23. fork — in a road
  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