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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. court — of law
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. bank — for money
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. fall — the season
  7. cell — a phone
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fall — to drop
  10. degree — from a university
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. court — for sport
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. court — of a king
  16. degree — temperature
  17. degree — an amount
  18. bank — for money
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. cell — in biology
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. bank — of a river

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