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 · cabinet · capital · nail · jam · clip · cell · court

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. court — of law
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. clip — to cut
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. cell — in biology
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. cell — a phone
  11. clip — a video
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. kick — in football
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. clip — for paper
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. capital — a city
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. capital — money
  20. court — for sport
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. court — of a king

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