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: court · swing · current · file · cold · bore · chair · land

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. swing — in golf
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cold — not warm
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of a king
  8. land — ground
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. swing — music
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. file — a document
  13. bore — to tire
  14. swing — to play on
  15. current — electric
  16. land — to come down
  17. file — a line of people
  18. file — a tool
  19. current — happening now
  20. court — of law
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. chair — a leader
  23. current — of water
  24. bore — to drill

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