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 124 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: game · capital · net · branch · row · deal · firm · court

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. court — for sport
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. court — of a king
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. firm — a company
  9. net — in sport
  10. net — for catching
  11. game — wild animals
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. capital — a city
  14. capital — money
  15. game — a match
  16. firm — decided
  17. court — of law
  18. branch — a division
  19. row — a line
  20. firm — steady
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. deal — to handle
  23. row — to paddle
  24. row — a quarrel

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