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: board · court · arm · chair · present · clip · file · roll

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. file — a line of people
  4. file — a document
  5. clip — to cut
  6. court — of a king
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. board — a committee
  9. roll — a list
  10. file — a tool
  11. present — there
  12. chair — a leader
  13. clip — a video
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. clip — for paper
  18. board — to get on
  19. court — of law
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. present — a gift
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. present — the time now
  24. roll — a cake

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