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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. rule — government
  3. court — for sport
  4. can — a tin
  5. court — of a king
  6. can — to be able to
  7. row — a line
  8. ground — a position
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. season — in sport
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. ground — crushed
  15. ground — the earth
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. court — of law
  18. kid — child
  19. season — of the year
  20. row — to paddle
  21. vault — a safe
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. rule — a law
  24. can — a tin

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