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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. kid — child
  3. club — for golf
  4. last — to go on
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. last — final
  7. board — a committee
  8. spell — letters
  9. board — to get on
  10. rule — government
  11. club — for dancing
  12. club — a group
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. court — for sport
  15. court — of a king
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. last — finally
  18. clip — a video
  19. clip — for paper
  20. rule — a law
  21. court — of law
  22. spell — magic
  23. kid — to tease
  24. spell — a short time

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