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: row · clip · coach · cue · kid · craft · sharp · board

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. board — to get on
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. cue — for pool
  7. craft — boats
  8. cue — a hint
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. craft — a skill
  11. clip — to cut
  12. clip — for paper
  13. cue — a signal
  14. kid — child
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. clip — a video
  17. board — a committee
  18. row — a line
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. sharp — clever
  22. row — to paddle
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. kid — to tease

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