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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. snap — to click
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. content — happy
  10. spell — letters
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — to trim
  13. chest — of your body
  14. spell — magic
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. chest — a box
  18. chest — of your body
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. season — of the year
  22. spell — a short time
  23. content — the amount
  24. fork — in a road

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