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: mine · court · kick · mouse · rash · ball · tear · content

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. ball — a great time
  3. content — the amount
  4. court — of law
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. content — happy
  8. rash — hasty
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. tear — from crying
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. mine — for digging
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. ball — a dance
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. court — of a king
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. court — for sport
  20. rash — a series
  21. kick — in football
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. tear — to rip

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