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: last · mouse · drill · court · cold · cell · straw · racket

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. last — final
  3. cell — in biology
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. drill — the tool
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. last — finally
  9. court — for sport
  10. drill — a practice
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. last — to go on
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. drill — army training
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. court — of law
  21. cell — a phone
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cold — not warm
  24. straw — dry grass

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