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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. spell — letters
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. content — the amount
  8. content — happy
  9. band — a music group
  10. capital — money
  11. spell — magic
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. season — in sport
  17. spell — a short time
  18. capital — a city
  19. season — of the year
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. toast — bread
  23. hand — help
  24. band — a ring

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