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 116 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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. object — a thing
  3. staff — employees
  4. staff — a stick
  5. shower — rain
  6. object — an aim
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. staff — employees
  9. cap — a lid
  10. bat — the animal
  11. scale — in music
  12. present — the time now
  13. scale — size or range
  14. shower — to wash
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. present — a gift
  17. present — there
  18. cap — a hat
  19. object — to protest
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. content — the amount
  24. cap — of ice

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