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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. content — the amount
  3. craft — a skill
  4. court — of law
  5. mate — a partner
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. scale — in music
  8. tear — to rip
  9. court — for sport
  10. mate — to breed
  11. can — a tin
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. can — a tin
  14. can — to be able to
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. tear — from crying
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. mate — a friend
  19. court — of a king
  20. craft — boats
  21. tear — from crying
  22. prune — to trim
  23. scale — size or range
  24. prune — to trim

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