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 120 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: bank · chest · rule · court · saw · race

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. chest — of your body
  3. rule — government
  4. court — of law
  5. chest — of your body
  6. court — for sport
  7. rule — a law
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. saw — the tool
  10. race — humankind
  11. race — a contest
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. bank — of a river
  14. race — the arms race
  15. chest — a box
  16. saw — the tool
  17. bank — for money
  18. bank — for money

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