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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. shower — to wash
  4. court — of law
  5. court — of a king
  6. shower — rain
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. last — to go on
  10. race — the arms race
  11. face — part of the head
  12. fork — in a road
  13. race — humankind
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. court — for sport
  16. face — to point toward
  17. last — finally
  18. last — final
  19. chair — a leader
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. race — a contest

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