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: hide · file · land · pass · court · pitcher · racket · roll

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. pass — a permit
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. file — a line of people
  7. land — to come down
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. land — ground
  13. roll — a list
  14. court — of law
  15. file — a document
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. court — of a king
  18. file — a tool
  19. court — for sport
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. roll — a cake
  24. land — a country

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