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 · hide · wind · march · cap · kid · bass · mine

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. cap — a lid
  5. bass — the fish
  6. kid — child
  7. wind — moving air
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. march — the month
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. cap — of ice
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. cap — a hat
  15. court — of law
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. court — of a king
  18. march — the month
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. bass — low music
  21. march — music
  22. kid — to tease
  23. wind — moving air
  24. hide — animal skin

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