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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. content — happy
  3. plane — a tool
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — for sport
  6. ground — the earth
  7. ground — crushed
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cold — an illness
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. firm — a company
  12. season — of the year
  13. firm — steady
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. deal — to handle
  17. season — in sport
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. firm — decided
  20. field — a subject
  21. content — the amount
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. ground — a position

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