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: ball · pass · wake · cold · bat · stick · trunk · court

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. ball — a great time
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. court — of law
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. wake — a trail
  11. cold — not warm
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. pass — a permit
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. court — of a king
  20. bat — the animal
  21. cold — an illness
  22. ball — a dance
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. cold — the Cold War

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