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: chair · patient · pit · date · net · court · land · race

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. land — ground
  4. court — of law
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. date — the fruit
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. court — for sport
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. net — for catching
  14. net — after costs
  15. pit — in a race
  16. court — of a king
  17. chair — a leader
  18. land — a country
  19. race — a contest
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. land — to come down
  22. pit — a hole
  23. race — humankind
  24. net — in sport

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