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: band · fork · saw · chest · pitch · kid · court · lie

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. kid — child
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. band — a ring
  5. court — of a king
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. lie — to recline
  10. saw — the tool
  11. chest — of your body
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. saw — the tool
  14. court — for sport
  15. kid — to tease
  16. pitch — completely
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. band — a music group
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. chest — a box
  23. chest — of your body
  24. fork — in a road

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