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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. stem — to come from
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. content — the amount
  5. track — a song
  6. saw — the tool
  7. saw — the tool
  8. scale — in music
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. scale — size or range
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. wind — moving air
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wind — moving air
  17. game — a match
  18. present — the time now
  19. track — to keep track
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. present — a gift
  22. track — a path
  23. present — there
  24. game — wild animals

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