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: kid · leaves · pound · cold · spell · court · cabinet · swing

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. court — of law
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. swing — music
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. spell — letters
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. pound — a weight
  11. swing — to play on
  12. cold — an illness
  13. court — of a king
  14. cold — not warm
  15. kid — child
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. kid — to tease
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. spell — magic
  22. spell — a short time
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. swing — in golf

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