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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. content — happy
  3. cold — not warm
  4. content — the amount
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. net — after costs
  8. pass — a permit
  9. ground — a position
  10. chest — of your body
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. net — for catching
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. chest — a box
  15. scale — in music
  16. net — in sport
  17. cold — an illness
  18. chest — of your body
  19. fine — high quality
  20. ground — crushed
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. scale — size or range
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. fine — all right

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