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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. club — for golf
  3. wound — an injury
  4. ground — crushed
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. club — a group
  9. content — the amount
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. pit — in a race
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. ground — a position
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. wound — an injury
  20. ground — the earth
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. club — for dancing
  23. pit — a hole
  24. nail — for a hammer

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