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'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. chest — of your body
  3. content — the amount
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. rest — what's left
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. chest — a box
  8. rest — a break
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. wax — to grow
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. scale — in music
  14. rest — what's left
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. chest — of your body
  17. squash — to crush
  18. clip — for paper
  19. content — happy
  20. clip — a video
  21. clip — to cut
  22. scale — size or range
  23. chair — a leader
  24. squash — the vegetable

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