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 120 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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. cold — not warm
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. content — happy
  6. tube — a container
  7. content — the amount
  8. spring — of water
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. snap — to click
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. cold — an illness
  14. chair — a leader
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. tube — the underground
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. spring — a coil

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