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: court · net · coach · pass · row · spell · clip · date

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. pass — a permit
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. date — the fruit
  5. row — a line
  6. court — of law
  7. net — for catching
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. clip — to cut
  10. spell — magic
  11. spell — letters
  12. row — to paddle
  13. court — for sport
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. net — after costs
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. net — in sport
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. court — of a king
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. clip — a video
  24. clip — for paper

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