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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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. content — videos and posts
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. game — a match
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. tear — from crying
  8. game — wild animals
  9. tear — to rip
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. tear — from crying
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. scale — in music
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. bark — to shout
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. scale — size or range

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