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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. court — for sport
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. game — a match
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. court — of law
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. date — the fruit
  9. board — to get on
  10. press — to push
  11. game — wild animals
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cold — an illness
  14. press — a publisher
  15. court — of a king
  16. board — a committee
  17. press — newspapers
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. scale — in music
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. scale — size or range

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