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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. bear — the animal
  5. rule — a law
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. date — the fruit
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. rule — government
  11. content — happy
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. hand — in cards
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. degree — an amount
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. degree — temperature
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. degree — from a university
  21. content — the amount
  22. roll — a cake
  23. roll — a list
  24. bear — the animal

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