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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. court — of a king
  3. net — after costs
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. net — in sport
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. stock — shares
  8. court — of law
  9. snap — to click
  10. kid — to tease
  11. kid — child
  12. stock — goods
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. drill — a practice
  15. swing — to play on
  16. net — for catching
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. drill — army training
  19. swing — in golf
  20. drill — the tool
  21. clip — a video
  22. clip — to cut
  23. court — for sport
  24. clip — for paper

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