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 116 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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. content — the amount
  3. content — happy
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. kid — to tease
  6. pop — music
  7. cap — a hat
  8. saw — the tool
  9. net — after costs
  10. pop — soda
  11. pop — to visit
  12. net — in sport
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. tear — to rip
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. tear — from crying
  18. cap — of ice
  19. saw — the tool
  20. cap — a lid
  21. net — for catching
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. tear — from crying
  24. kid — child

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