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 · band · chair · wax · drill · kick · fork

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. band — a ring
  4. band — a music group
  5. kick — in football
  6. drill — the tool
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. court — of law
  10. wax — to grow
  11. hand — in cards
  12. court — for sport
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. drill — a practice
  15. hand — help
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. drill — army training
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. chair — a leader
  21. fork — in a road
  22. court — of a king
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. fork — a garden tool

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