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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. club — for dancing
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bulb — for light
  6. content — happy
  7. content — the amount
  8. club — a group
  9. club — for golf
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. prune — to trim
  12. clip — a video
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. stand — to bear
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. prune — to trim
  19. court — of law
  20. court — for sport
  21. court — of a king
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. clip — for paper
  24. stand — on your feet

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