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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. content — the amount
  3. spell — letters
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. last — final
  7. face — to confront
  8. last — to go on
  9. face — part of the head
  10. bass — the fish
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. spell — magic
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. snap — to click
  15. content — happy
  16. last — finally
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. bass — low music
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. face — to point toward
  21. spell — a short time
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. bass — the instrument

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