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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. mate — a friend
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. key — the most important part
  5. row — a line
  6. content — happy
  7. can — to be able to
  8. tube — the underground
  9. can — a tin
  10. clip — for paper
  11. mate — to breed
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. key — for a lock
  15. tube — a container
  16. clip — to cut
  17. mate — a partner
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. can — a tin
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. row — to paddle
  23. key — in music
  24. clip — a video

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