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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. bat — the animal
  3. scale — in music
  4. firm — steady
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. drill — the tool
  7. firm — a company
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. kid — to tease
  10. drill — army training
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. bark — to shout
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cell — in biology
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. drill — a practice
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. content — happy
  21. firm — decided
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. kid — child
  24. scale — size or range

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