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 · bat · pop · game · date · clip · march · bulb

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. march — music
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. game — a match
  7. date — the fruit
  8. clip — for paper
  9. game — wild animals
  10. pop — music
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. bulb — for light
  13. kick — in football
  14. bat — the animal
  15. pop — to visit
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. clip — to cut
  18. march — the month
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bulb — for light
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. march — the month
  24. pop — soda

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