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 · object · straw · content · clip · pitcher · file · toast

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. content — the amount
  3. clip — a video
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. court — of law
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. content — happy
  8. object — a thing
  9. file — a tool
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. object — an aim
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. court — for sport
  14. toast — bread
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. clip — to cut
  17. court — of a king
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. object — to protest
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. clip — for paper
  22. file — a line of people
  23. file — a document
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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