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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. roll — a cake
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. content — happy
  8. game — a match
  9. present — the time now
  10. court — for sport
  11. kick — in football
  12. court — of law
  13. court — of a king
  14. game — wild animals
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. present — a gift
  18. roll — a list
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. content — the amount
  22. bark — to shout
  23. kick — a thrill
  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