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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. clip — to cut
  3. game — wild animals
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. bulb — for light
  6. ground — crushed
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. clip — a video
  10. ground — a position
  11. bat — the animal
  12. clip — for paper
  13. ground — the earth
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. bulb — for light
  17. game — a match
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. saw — the tool
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. content — the amount
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. saw — the tool

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