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: nail · spring · court · last · scale · chest · wound · fine

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. chest — a box
  6. fine — all right
  7. court — of a king
  8. last — final
  9. spring — a coil
  10. wound — an injury
  11. fine — high quality
  12. court — of law
  13. scale — size or range
  14. chest — of your body
  15. last — to go on
  16. scale — in music
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. spring — the season
  21. chest — of your body
  22. spring — of water
  23. court — for sport
  24. last — finally

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