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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. drill — the tool
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. drill — a practice
  5. swing — music
  6. land — to come down
  7. land — ground
  8. game — wild animals
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. perch — the fish
  12. land — a country
  13. root — of a plant
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. root — of a word
  16. swing — in golf
  17. wax — to grow
  18. root — the cause
  19. game — a match
  20. swing — to play on
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. drill — army training
  24. content — the amount

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