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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. hand — in cards
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. band — a ring
  6. content — the amount
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. bore — to drill
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. band — a music group
  11. rash — hasty
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. kick — in football
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. wound — an injury
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. rash — a series
  18. hand — help
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. wound — an injury
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. bore — to tire
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. plane — a tool

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