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. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. swing — in golf
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. stand — to bear
  8. land — a country
  9. swing — music
  10. court — of law
  11. wound — an injury
  12. court — for sport
  13. file — a tool
  14. swing — to play on
  15. file — a document
  16. wound — an injury
  17. file — a line of people
  18. land — to come down
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. bat — the animal
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. court — of a king
  23. land — ground
  24. bat — for baseball

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