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 116 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: squash · court · ball · rash · plane · cold

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. ball — a great time
  5. court — of a king
  6. rash — hasty
  7. cold — not warm
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. ball — a dance
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. squash — the sport
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. court — for sport
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. cold — an illness
  16. rash — a series
  17. squash — to crush
  18. plane — a 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