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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. clip — for paper
  3. face — to point toward
  4. clip — a video
  5. clip — to cut
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. face — part of the head
  9. court — of law
  10. court — of a king
  11. lean — thin
  12. net — for catching
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. stock — goods
  15. wind — moving air
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. net — after costs
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. face — to confront
  20. lean — to bend
  21. stock — shares
  22. net — in sport
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — to turn a key

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