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: wound · straw · coach · can · rule · court · clip · deal

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. wound — an injury
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. court — of law
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. court — of a king
  12. clip — for paper
  13. clip — a video
  14. deal — to handle
  15. clip — to cut
  16. rule — government
  17. can — to be able to
  18. can — a tin
  19. court — for sport
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. wound — an injury
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. rule — a law

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