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 hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. lie — to recline
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. band — a ring
  6. hand — help
  7. spring — the season
  8. clip — for paper
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. spring — a coil
  11. mug — a cup
  12. court — of law
  13. clip — to cut
  14. clip — a video
  15. mug — a face
  16. spring — of water
  17. chair — a leader
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. mug — to rob
  21. band — a music group
  22. court — for sport
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. hand — in cards

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