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 · ball · court · file · kid · press · swing · clip

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. court — for sport
  3. swing — in golf
  4. kick — in football
  5. clip — for paper
  6. court — of a king
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. press — a publisher
  9. clip — to cut
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. kid — to tease
  12. file — a tool
  13. swing — music
  14. court — of law
  15. press — to push
  16. file — a line of people
  17. ball — a dance
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. file — a document
  20. press — newspapers
  21. ball — a great time
  22. kid — child
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. clip — a video

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