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: cue · clip · degree · tear · kick · spell · court · cap

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. clip — to cut
  3. degree — from a university
  4. kick — in football
  5. cap — of ice
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. tear — from crying
  8. court — for sport
  9. court — of a king
  10. degree — temperature
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. tear — from crying
  13. cue — a signal
  14. court — of law
  15. tear — to rip
  16. cap — a hat
  17. spell — a short time
  18. cap — a lid
  19. spell — letters
  20. clip — a video
  21. spell — magic
  22. clip — for paper
  23. cue — for pool
  24. degree — an amount

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