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 116 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 · stand · bat · ball · mine · court · capital · fall

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. land — ground
  4. land — to come down
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. fall — the season
  8. mine — for digging
  9. court — of law
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. court — of a king
  13. land — a country
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. fall — to drop
  17. stand — to bear
  18. fall — to drop
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. capital — a city
  21. bat — the animal
  22. capital — money
  23. ball — a great time
  24. ball — a dance

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