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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. press — a publisher
  3. root — of a word
  4. rash — hasty
  5. last — finally
  6. chest — of your body
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. chest — a box
  9. pop — to visit
  10. last — to go on
  11. pop — music
  12. last — final
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. stem — to come from
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. rash — a series
  17. press — newspapers
  18. content — the amount
  19. chest — of your body
  20. root — of a plant
  21. press — to push
  22. pop — soda
  23. root — the cause
  24. rash — on the skin

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