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: cell · wound · charge · last · bat · hand · date · court

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. hand — in cards
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. last — to go on
  7. cell — a phone
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. charge — a price
  10. cell — in biology
  11. court — of law
  12. wound — an injury
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. hand — help
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bat — the animal
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. last — finally
  19. court — for sport
  20. last — final
  21. charge — electricity
  22. court — of a king
  23. charge — in control
  24. wound — an injury

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