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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. squash — the sport
  4. cold — not warm
  5. staff — a stick
  6. cold — an illness
  7. content — happy
  8. squash — to crush
  9. current — electric
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. game — wild animals
  12. content — the amount
  13. mate — to breed
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. staff — employees
  16. current — happening now
  17. game — a match
  18. current — of water
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. ball — a dance
  21. mate — a friend
  22. mate — a partner
  23. staff — employees
  24. game — a kind of play

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