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: game · court · trunk · temple · tear · stand · fall · chair

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. tear — from crying
  4. chair — a leader
  5. game — a match
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. court — for sport
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fall — the season
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. fall — to drop
  12. tear — to rip
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. court — of law
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. court — of a king
  19. game — wild animals
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. stand — to bear
  24. temple — side of the head

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