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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. can — to be able to
  4. court — of law
  5. clip — for paper
  6. clip — to cut
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. chip — to eat
  9. hand — help
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. cold — not warm
  12. can — a tin
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. can — a tin
  16. court — of a king
  17. hand — in cards
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. chip — for betting
  21. cold — an illness
  22. mark — a grade
  23. court — for sport
  24. clip — a video

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