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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. spell — a short time
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. race — a contest
  6. bear — the animal
  7. spell — letters
  8. bear — the animal
  9. saw — the tool
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. saw — the tool
  12. race — humankind
  13. content — happy
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. cold — an illness
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. cold — not warm
  18. race — the arms race
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. spell — magic
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. arm — part of the 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