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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. roll — a list
  3. content — the amount
  4. bat — the animal
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. bound — certain
  7. bound — tied together
  8. roll — a cake
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. present — there
  13. cold — an illness
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. bound — obliged
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. present — the time now
  18. content — happy
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. saw — the tool
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. cold — not warm
  24. present — a gift

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