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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. fine — all right
  7. game — wild animals
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. content — happy
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. bat — the animal
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. spring — the season
  16. game — a match
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. spring — a coil
  19. mine — for digging
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. fine — high quality
  24. spring — of water

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