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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. file — a line of people
  3. foot — a measure
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. file — a document
  7. game — a match
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. clip — a video
  11. clip — to cut
  12. clip — for paper
  13. court — of a king
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. court — for sport
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. file — a tool
  21. wake — a trail
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. court — of law
  24. game — wild animals

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