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: court · can · squash · scale · stock · fan · trunk · rash

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. rash — hasty
  3. court — of a king
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. scale — size or range
  6. can — a tin
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. rash — a series
  9. stock — goods
  10. court — of law
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. stock — shares
  14. squash — to crush
  15. scale — in music
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. squash — the sport
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. can — to be able to
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. can — a tin

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