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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. cold — not warm
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. cold — an illness
  7. rule — government
  8. court — for sport
  9. rule — a law
  10. clip — a video
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. clip — to cut
  13. foot — a measure
  14. clip — for paper
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. court — of law
  17. fall — to drop
  18. content — the amount
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. fall — the season
  21. content — happy
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. fall — to drop
  24. foot — the bottom

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