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

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. rule — government
  3. field — a subject
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. pop — to visit
  6. field — for sport
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. kick — in football
  9. court — of law
  10. pop — soda
  11. bat — the animal
  12. rule — a law
  13. field — farmland
  14. court — for sport
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. court — of a king
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. pop — music

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