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: court · bay · lie · cold · kid · last · club · coach

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. club — for golf
  4. last — final
  5. club — a group
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. court — of a king
  8. kid — child
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. lie — to recline
  12. cold — an illness
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. club — for dancing
  15. kid — to tease
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. court — of law
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. cold — not warm
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. court — for sport
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. last — finally

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