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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. clip — for paper
  4. branch — a division
  5. swing — music
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. track — a song
  8. swing — to play on
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. scale — in music
  11. court — of a king
  12. track — to keep track
  13. clip — to cut
  14. wound — an injury
  15. court — for sport
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. swing — in golf
  18. court — of law
  19. scale — size or range
  20. track — a path
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. wound — an injury
  24. clip — a video

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