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: game · court · branch · net · mine · tube · face · pitcher

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. game — a match
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. court — of a king
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. court — of law
  9. mine — for digging
  10. tube — a container
  11. game — wild animals
  12. tube — the underground
  13. face — to confront
  14. face — to point toward
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. branch — a division
  17. net — for catching
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. net — in sport
  21. court — for sport
  22. net — after costs
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. face — part of the head

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