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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. spring — a coil
  3. scale — in music
  4. cold — an illness
  5. spring — the season
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. squash — to crush
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. drill — the tool
  10. drill — a practice
  11. fall — to drop
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. fall — to drop
  14. spring — of water
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. scale — size or range
  17. fall — the season
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. squash — the sport
  20. rush — hurry
  21. content — happy
  22. drill — army training
  23. cold — not warm
  24. rush — a thrill

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