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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. land — to come down
  5. mine — for digging
  6. march — the month
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. court — for sport
  10. land — a country
  11. court — of a king
  12. court — of law
  13. cold — an illness
  14. land — ground
  15. march — the month
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. cold — not warm
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. march — music
  21. saw — the tool
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. saw — the tool

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