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: court · scale · lean · clip · cue · game · bass · saw

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  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. bass — low music
  2. clip — for paper
  3. scale — size or range
  4. cue — a signal
  5. clip — to cut
  6. game — a match
  7. saw — the tool
  8. scale — in music
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. court — for sport
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. cue — a hint
  15. lean — thin
  16. cue — for pool
  17. clip — a video
  18. lean — to bend
  19. court — of law
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. saw — the tool
  22. game — wild animals
  23. bass — the fish
  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