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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  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. court — for sport
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. cold — not warm
  5. clip — to cut
  6. land — ground
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. fall — to drop
  9. land — to come down
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. cold — an illness
  13. court — of a king
  14. kick — in football
  15. fall — the season
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. fall — to drop
  21. clip — a video
  22. court — of law
  23. land — a country
  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