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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. last — finally
  3. content — the amount
  4. chair — a leader
  5. mark — a grade
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. clip — to cut
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. spring — a coil
  10. spring — the season
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. last — final
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. last — to go on
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. clip — a video
  20. clip — for paper
  21. spring — of water
  22. date — the fruit
  23. mark — a trace
  24. content — happy

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