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: prune · court · drill · vault · bat · clip · lash · wound

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. drill — army training
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. clip — a video
  6. vault — a safe
  7. drill — the tool
  8. prune — to trim
  9. court — of a king
  10. court — of law
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. clip — for paper
  13. wound — an injury
  14. prune — to trim
  15. drill — a practice
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. clip — to cut
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. court — for sport
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. wound — an injury
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. bat — for baseball

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