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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. court — for sport
  3. court — of a king
  4. tube — the underground
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. clip — to cut
  7. court — of law
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. pit — in a race
  13. tube — a container
  14. shower — rain
  15. shower — to wash
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. pit — a hole
  20. clip — a video
  21. clip — for paper
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. game — wild animals
  24. game — a match

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