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. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  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. plane — in geometry
  2. last — final
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. squash — the sport
  5. court — of a king
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cold — not warm
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. last — finally
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. squash — to crush
  14. court — for sport
  15. plane — a tool
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. perch — the fish
  20. last — to go on
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. racket — for tennis
  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