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: bowl · cold · stand · court · track · plane

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. court — for sport
  3. cold — an illness
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. track — to keep track
  6. stand — to bear
  7. court — of law
  8. plane — a tool
  9. cold — not warm
  10. track — a path
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. track — a song
  18. court — of a king

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