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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. hand — help
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. court — of law
  6. court — for sport
  7. clip — to cut
  8. rush — hurry
  9. clip — for paper
  10. field — for sport
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. court — of a king
  16. field — farmland
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. field — a subject
  19. clip — a video
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. hand — in cards
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. cell — in biology

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