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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. content — happy
  5. hand — help
  6. tear — from crying
  7. charge — in control
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. hand — in cards
  10. snap — to click
  11. field — a subject
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. charge — a price
  15. mine — for digging
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. content — the amount
  19. tear — from crying
  20. field — for sport
  21. tear — to rip
  22. field — farmland
  23. bear — the animal
  24. charge — electricity

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