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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. wake — a trail
  10. cell — a phone
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. face — to point toward
  13. cue — a signal
  14. cue — for pool
  15. cell — in biology
  16. chair — a leader
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. face — to confront
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. cue — a hint
  23. content — the amount
  24. face — part of the head

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