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: court · coach · file · land · spell · bore · squash · club

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. court — for sport
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. squash — the sport
  6. club — for dancing
  7. club — a group
  8. spell — magic
  9. land — to come down
  10. court — of law
  11. club — for golf
  12. file — a line of people
  13. bore — to tire
  14. squash — to crush
  15. spell — a short time
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. land — ground
  18. land — a country
  19. bore — to drill
  20. court — of a king
  21. file — a document
  22. spell — letters
  23. file — a tool
  24. squash — the vegetable

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