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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. kick — in football
  3. band — a ring
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. plane — a tool
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. cold — an illness
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. cold — not warm
  12. court — of law
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. court — for sport
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. court — of a king
  20. bat — the animal
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. band — a music group
  24. leaves — lets stay

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