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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. court — of a king
  4. spell — a short time
  5. face — to point toward
  6. hand — in cards
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. net — in sport
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. court — for sport
  11. spell — letters
  12. bass — the fish
  13. hand — help
  14. net — after costs
  15. face — part of the head
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. court — of law
  19. kid — to tease
  20. bass — low music
  21. net — for catching
  22. spell — magic
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. kid — child

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