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 120 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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. spring — the season
  5. spring — of water
  6. content — the amount
  7. mark — a trace
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. pitch — completely
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. scale — in music
  13. scale — size or range
  14. clip — a video
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. clip — for paper
  18. clip — to cut
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. mark — a grade
  23. spring — a coil
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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