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: pitcher · land · cue · bat · chair · straw · court · suit

  1. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bat — the animal
  5. suit — clothes
  6. cue — for pool
  7. court — of a king
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. chair — a leader
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. suit — to fit
  17. land — a country
  18. court — of law
  19. cue — a signal
  20. land — ground
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. court — for sport
  23. land — to come down
  24. cue — a hint

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