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 120 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 spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. court — of a king
  3. present — a gift
  4. pop — soda
  5. pop — to visit
  6. row — a line
  7. clip — a video
  8. pop — music
  9. swing — music
  10. file — a line of people
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. file — a tool
  13. clip — to cut
  14. row — to paddle
  15. file — a document
  16. court — for sport
  17. swing — to play on
  18. present — the time now
  19. clip — for paper
  20. court — of law
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. present — there
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. swing — in golf

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