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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. hand — in cards
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. court — of law
  5. court — for sport
  6. plane — a tool
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. court — of a king
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. vault — a safe
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. hand — help
  14. clip — for paper
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. bark — to shout
  22. sharp — clever
  23. clip — a video
  24. bark — of a tree

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