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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. club — a group
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. content — happy
  5. last — final
  6. spring — a coil
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. kid — child
  9. bark — to shout
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. club — for golf
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. last — finally
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. club — for dancing
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. kick — in football
  18. spring — of water
  19. kid — to tease
  20. spring — the season
  21. last — to go on
  22. rash — a series
  23. content — the amount
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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