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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. chip — for betting
  3. court — of a king
  4. clip — a video
  5. file — a line of people
  6. court — of law
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. kid — child
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. court — for sport
  13. file — a document
  14. clip — to cut
  15. kid — to tease
  16. clip — for paper
  17. chip — to eat
  18. kick — in football

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