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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. toast — bread
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. tube — a container
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. stock — goods
  7. content — happy
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. cold — not warm
  10. stock — shares
  11. tube — the underground
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. squash — the sport
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. content — the amount
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. cold — an illness
  24. squash — to crush

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