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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: kick · ball · court · file · kid · press

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. press — a publisher
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. court — of law
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. ball — a dance
  7. press — to push
  8. ball — a great time
  9. file — a tool
  10. court — for sport
  11. kid — child
  12. kick — in football
  13. court — of a king
  14. file — a document
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. file — a line of people
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. press — newspapers

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