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: pitch · row · fork · fall · clip · rule · court · leaves

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. row — to paddle
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. fall — the season
  7. clip — to cut
  8. court — for sport
  9. pitch — completely
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. fall — to drop
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. court — of law
  15. clip — a video
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. rule — a law
  18. clip — for paper
  19. court — of a king
  20. fork — in a road
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. row — a line
  23. rule — government
  24. pitch — a sports field

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