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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. row — a line
  3. mine — for digging
  4. fall — the season
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. fall — to drop
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. row — to paddle
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. fall — to drop
  14. capital — money
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. capital — a city
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. stem — to come from
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. content — the amount

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