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. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  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. roll — on a roll
  2. content — happy
  3. content — the amount
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. cold — an illness
  6. net — in sport
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. cold — not warm
  9. capital — a city
  10. bark — to shout
  11. rash — hasty
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. rash — a series
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. net — for catching
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. net — after costs
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. capital — money
  20. roll — a list
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. roll — a cake
  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