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: hand · last · game · staff · court · wound · mug · stick

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. mug — a face
  3. last — final
  4. hand — in cards
  5. court — of law
  6. game — a match
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. court — for sport
  10. staff — employees
  11. last — to go on
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. last — finally
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. game — wild animals
  16. staff — a stick
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. staff — employees
  19. hand — help
  20. wound — an injury
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. wound — an injury
  23. mug — to rob
  24. mug — a cup

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