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 120 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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. ground — crushed
  3. content — the amount
  4. field — a subject
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. field — for sport
  8. field — farmland
  9. ground — the earth
  10. tear — to rip
  11. content — happy
  12. kid — to tease
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. row — a line
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. row — to paddle
  18. ground — a position
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. branch — a division
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — from crying

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