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 116 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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. snap — to click
  3. file — a line of people
  4. clip — a video
  5. court — of a king
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. craft — a skill
  8. current — of water
  9. file — a document
  10. clip — to cut
  11. current — happening now
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. net — after costs
  14. current — electric
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. net — for catching
  17. court — for sport
  18. craft — boats
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. clip — for paper
  21. court — of law
  22. file — a tool
  23. ball — a great time
  24. ball — a dance

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