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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. saw — the tool
  5. club — a group
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. club — for dancing
  8. key — in music
  9. club — for golf
  10. tear — from crying
  11. spell — letters
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — moving air
  14. tear — from crying
  15. spell — magic
  16. saw — the tool
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. pound — a weight
  19. content — the amount
  20. key — for a lock
  21. key — the most important part
  22. tear — to rip
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. spell — a short time

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