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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. clip — to cut
  3. club — for dancing
  4. net — after costs
  5. court — of a king
  6. pit — in a race
  7. net — for catching
  8. court — for sport
  9. land — a country
  10. rest — a break
  11. clip — a video
  12. land — to come down
  13. land — ground
  14. net — in sport
  15. rest — what's left
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. pit — a hole
  18. game — wild animals
  19. game — a match
  20. court — of law
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. rest — what's left
  23. club — for golf
  24. clip — for paper

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