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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. prune — to trim
  4. tear — from crying
  5. court — of a king
  6. prune — to trim
  7. ball — a dance
  8. wind — moving air
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. pitch — completely
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. court — of law
  15. ball — a great time
  16. wind — moving air
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — to rip
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. court — for sport
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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