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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. rock — a stone
  3. cell — in biology
  4. shower — to wash
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. kid — to tease
  7. spell — letters
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. wound — an injury
  11. content — the amount
  12. rock — music
  13. kid — child
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. spell — magic
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. wound — an injury
  20. shower — rain
  21. content — happy
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. branch — a division
  24. cell — a phone

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