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 · charge · band · court · cold · arm · shower · present

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. charge — electricity
  3. present — a gift
  4. court — of a king
  5. present — there
  6. charge — a price
  7. shower — rain
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. kick — in football
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. cold — an illness
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. court — for sport
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. shower — to wash
  19. court — of law
  20. cold — not warm
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. charge — in control
  23. band — a music group
  24. present — the time now

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