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 · field · coach · cue · mine · kick · court · kid

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. field — farmland
  4. court — of a king
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. kid — child
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. race — the arms race
  9. mine — for digging
  10. field — a subject
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. race — a contest
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. cue — a signal
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. court — of law
  19. cue — a hint
  20. race — humankind
  21. kid — to tease
  22. kick — in football
  23. field — for sport
  24. cue — for pool

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