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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. net — in sport
  3. content — happy
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. content — the amount
  6. cold — an illness
  7. net — for catching
  8. bark — to shout
  9. saw — the tool
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. net — after costs
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. saw — the tool
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. bark — a dog's sound

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