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 120 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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. drill — the tool
  3. spell — a short time
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. drill — a practice
  6. chest — of your body
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. land — ground
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. dip — to sink
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. spell — magic
  14. chest — a box
  15. spell — letters
  16. content — happy
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. land — a country
  19. drill — army training
  20. content — the amount
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. wax — to grow
  24. chest — of your body

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