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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. race — humankind
  3. court — of law
  4. cell — in biology
  5. race — a contest
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. swing — music
  10. scale — size or range
  11. cell — a phone
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. court — of a king
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. net — after costs
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. swing — in golf
  18. court — for sport
  19. race — the arms race
  20. net — in sport
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. scale — in music
  23. net — for catching
  24. cell — in a prison

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