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

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. craft — a skill
  3. file — a document
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. hand — help
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. hand — in cards
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. craft — boats
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. clip — a video
  13. dip — to sink
  14. prune — to trim
  15. content — happy
  16. file — a tool
  17. clip — for paper
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. file — a line of people
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. prune — to trim
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. clip — to cut

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