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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. content — the amount
  5. craft — boats
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. cell — in biology
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. capital — money
  11. fork — in a road
  12. capital — a city
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. craft — a skill
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. mine — for digging
  19. kick — in football
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. cell — a phone
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. sharp — clever

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