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: race · cue · straw · ground · court · land · racket · arm

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. land — a country
  4. cue — for pool
  5. land — to come down
  6. race — humankind
  7. court — for sport
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. court — of law
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. ground — crushed
  12. cue — a signal
  13. race — the arms race
  14. land — ground
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. cue — a hint
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. ground — a position
  21. race — a contest
  22. court — of a king
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. ground — the earth

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