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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. content — the amount
  4. band — a ring
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. content — happy
  10. stem — to come from
  11. band — a music group
  12. cell — a phone
  13. court — for sport
  14. bat — the animal
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. snap — to click
  17. court — of law
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. cell — in biology
  24. content — videos and posts

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