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: plane · court · deal · dip · cold · fan · content · tube

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. plane — a tool
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. content — happy
  7. court — for sport
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. cold — an illness
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. tube — the underground
  14. content — the amount
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. court — of a king
  17. dip — to sink
  18. cold — not warm
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. tube — a container
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. deal — to handle
  24. deal — an agreement

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