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: land · mouse · kid · court · spell · cold · firm · patient

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. land — a country
  3. spell — a short time
  4. land — ground
  5. land — to come down
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. court — for sport
  9. spell — magic
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. cold — not warm
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. cold — an illness
  15. firm — decided
  16. spell — letters
  17. court — of law
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. firm — steady
  20. kid — to tease
  21. firm — a company
  22. kid — child
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. patient — a sick person

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