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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: court · race · firm · wind · chair · hide

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. firm — steady
  3. court — of a king
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. race — a contest
  6. chair — a leader
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. court — for sport
  10. firm — a company
  11. race — the arms race
  12. firm — decided
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. race — humankind
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. wind — moving air
  18. court — of law

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