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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. field — farmland
  3. content — happy
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. squash — to crush
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. root — of a word
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. mark — a trace
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. field — a subject
  17. root — of a plant
  18. field — for sport
  19. bat — the animal
  20. mark — a grade
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. squash — the sport
  24. root — the cause

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