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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. court — of law
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. clip — a video
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. clip — to cut
  9. clip — for paper
  10. last — to go on
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. cell — in biology
  13. court — of a king
  14. bark — to shout
  15. court — for sport
  16. cell — a phone
  17. last — final
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. mine — for digging

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