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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. court — for sport
  3. club — for golf
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. fork — in a road
  6. rule — government
  7. court — of a king
  8. shower — rain
  9. shower — to wash
  10. bulb — for light
  11. clip — a video
  12. root — of a word
  13. clip — for paper
  14. rule — a law
  15. club — for dancing
  16. root — of a plant
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. court — of law
  19. root — the cause
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. clip — to cut
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. club — a group

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