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 116 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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. bark — to shout
  3. season — of the year
  4. sharp — clever
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. squash — to crush
  7. season — in sport
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. mate — to breed
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. squash — the sport
  15. content — the amount
  16. bass — low music
  17. content — happy
  18. bass — the fish
  19. mate — a friend
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. mate — a partner
  24. cold — an illness

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