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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. content — happy
  3. press — a publisher
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. sharp — clever
  9. cold — not warm
  10. content — the amount
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. foot — a measure
  13. ground — crushed
  14. stock — goods
  15. cold — an illness
  16. ground — a position
  17. stock — shares
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. kick — in football
  20. press — newspapers
  21. ground — the earth
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. press — to push
  24. sharp — with an edge

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