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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. content — happy
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. chest — of your body
  6. plane — a tool
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. content — the amount
  9. bark — to shout
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. land — to come down
  14. land — ground
  15. chest — of your body
  16. court — of a king
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. chest — a box
  21. court — for sport
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. land — a country

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