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: hand · court · last · kick · track · fan · bass · clip

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. track — a path
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. last — finally
  5. clip — a video
  6. last — final
  7. clip — to cut
  8. court — for sport
  9. kick — in football
  10. bass — low music
  11. clip — for paper
  12. track — a song
  13. track — to keep track
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. court — of a king
  16. hand — in cards
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. hand — help
  20. bass — the fish
  21. court — of law
  22. last — to go on
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. kick — a thrill

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