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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. stem — to come from
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. rest — a break
  6. wound — an injury
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. content — the amount
  12. row — to paddle
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. content — happy
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. wound — an injury
  18. row — a line
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. rest — what's left
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. nail — for a hammer

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