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: calf · date · current · rule · clip · pitch · kid · court

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. kid — to tease
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. date — the fruit
  5. clip — to cut
  6. clip — for paper
  7. current — electric
  8. court — of a king
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. kid — child
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. pitch — completely
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. current — happening now
  16. clip — a video
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. rule — a law
  20. court — for sport
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. rule — government
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. court — of 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