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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. chest — of your body
  3. prune — to trim
  4. toast — bread
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. perch — the fish
  7. last — final
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. cell — a phone
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. rock — a stone
  14. chest — a box
  15. prune — to trim
  16. last — finally
  17. cell — in biology
  18. last — to go on
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. content — happy
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. chest — of your body
  23. content — the amount
  24. perch — for a bird

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