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 120 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: charge · mine · saw · court · squash · pitcher · content · row

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. charge — a price
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. row — to paddle
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. saw — the tool
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. saw — the tool
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. squash — to crush
  13. charge — electricity
  14. charge — in control
  15. content — happy
  16. squash — the sport
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. court — of a king
  21. court — of law
  22. court — for sport
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. content — the amount

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