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: club · scale · cold · tear · tube · key · court · clip

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. key — for a lock
  3. clip — to cut
  4. tear — from crying
  5. key — the most important part
  6. tube — a container
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. court — of law
  9. key — in music
  10. club — for dancing
  11. cold — not warm
  12. scale — size or range
  13. clip — a video
  14. club — a group
  15. court — for sport
  16. cold — an illness
  17. clip — for paper
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. tear — to rip
  20. scale — in music
  21. club — for golf
  22. tear — from crying
  23. court — of a king
  24. tube — the underground

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