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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. ground — crushed
  3. track — to keep track
  4. ground — the earth
  5. rule — a law
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. content — the amount
  8. drill — a practice
  9. chair — a leader
  10. scale — in music
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. squash — the sport
  14. ground — a position
  15. track — a path
  16. drill — the tool
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. drill — army training
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. scale — size or range
  22. track — a song
  23. squash — to crush
  24. rule — government

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