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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. spell — a short time
  4. fall — to drop
  5. clip — a video
  6. spell — letters
  7. kid — child
  8. clip — for paper
  9. fall — to drop
  10. court — for sport
  11. craft — boats
  12. kid — to tease
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. clip — to cut
  15. fall — the season
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. craft — a skill
  18. ball — a great time
  19. spell — magic
  20. ball — a dance
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. court — of law
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. ball — a round shape

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