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 120 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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. pop — to visit
  3. chest — a box
  4. rock — a stone
  5. content — happy
  6. net — after costs
  7. net — in sport
  8. wound — an injury
  9. land — to come down
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. rock — music
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. pop — soda
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. land — a country
  18. chest — of your body
  19. land — ground
  20. net — for catching
  21. pop — music
  22. chest — of your body
  23. content — the amount
  24. wake — a trail

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