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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. craft — boats
  3. craft — a skill
  4. rock — music
  5. race — the arms race
  6. race — a contest
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. content — happy
  10. rush — hurry
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. game — a match
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. game — wild animals
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. rock — a stone
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. race — humankind
  22. row — a line
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. row — to paddle

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