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: pitch · court · current · wound · shower · coach · fall · ground

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. wound — an injury
  3. current — happening now
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fall — to drop
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. wound — an injury
  10. current — of water
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. pitch — completely
  13. court — of law
  14. ground — the earth
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. ground — crushed
  17. court — for sport
  18. shower — rain
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. current — electric
  21. fall — the season
  22. shower — to wash
  23. ground — a position
  24. coach — a trainer

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