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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. snap — to click
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. pit — a hole
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. content — the amount
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. tube — the underground
  11. band — a ring
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. court — of a king
  14. court — for sport
  15. race — humankind
  16. race — a contest
  17. band — a music group
  18. content — happy
  19. tube — a container
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. pit — in a race
  22. mine — for digging
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. race — the arms race

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