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 116 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: net · mine · lash · game · court · cold · fall · rule

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. court — for sport
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. mine — for digging
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. fall — to drop
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. net — in sport
  9. rule — a law
  10. game — wild animals
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. court — of a king
  13. court — of law
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. game — a match
  18. fall — to drop
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. net — for catching
  21. rule — government
  22. fall — the season
  23. cold — not warm
  24. net — after costs

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