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: track · court · hide · bat · game · mine · branch · nail

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. branch — a division
  5. track — a path
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. mine — for digging
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. court — of a king
  10. court — of law
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. track — to keep track
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. game — a match
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. game — wild animals
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. track — a song
  22. court — for sport
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. nail — for a hammer

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