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: chair · file · straw · kick · kid · race · court · deal

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. court — for sport
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. file — a line of people
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. court — of law
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. race — a contest
  12. court — of a king
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. kick — in football
  16. kid — to tease
  17. kid — child
  18. chair — a leader
  19. deal — to handle
  20. file — a tool
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. race — humankind
  23. race — the arms race
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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