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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. bore — to drill
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. tear — to rip
  6. chair — a leader
  7. squash — the sport
  8. field — a subject
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. fine — all right
  11. content — happy
  12. content — the amount
  13. tear — from crying
  14. field — for sport
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. tear — from crying
  17. fine — high quality
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. bore — to tire
  24. field — farmland

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