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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. court — of a king
  3. present — the time now
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. spring — a coil
  8. court — of law
  9. present — there
  10. content — happy
  11. present — a gift
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. bark — to shout
  14. spring — of water
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. rush — hurry
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. spring — the season
  19. snap — to click
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. court — for sport
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. content — the amount

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