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: kid · mine · shower · key · court · clip · ruler · squash

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. clip — for paper
  3. mine — for digging
  4. clip — a video
  5. kid — child
  6. court — of a king
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. shower — to wash
  10. squash — the sport
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. clip — to cut
  14. kid — to tease
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. shower — rain
  18. court — for sport
  19. key — the most important part
  20. court — of law
  21. key — in music
  22. key — for a lock
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. squash — to crush

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