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: bat · arm · field · court · band · net · pass · perch

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. court — for sport
  4. pass — a permit
  5. band — a music group
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. field — farmland
  8. field — a subject
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. net — in sport
  12. bat — the animal
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. court — of law
  15. perch — the fish
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. net — for catching
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. net — after costs
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. field — for sport
  23. band — a ring
  24. arm — a part of something

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