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 120 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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. court — for sport
  3. court — of a king
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. shower — to wash
  6. chest — of your body
  7. cap — of ice
  8. spring — the season
  9. press — a publisher
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. spring — of water
  14. press — to push
  15. cap — a hat
  16. spring — a coil
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. shower — rain
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. chest — a box
  21. cap — a lid
  22. chest — of your body
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. press — newspapers

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