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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. content — happy
  7. fall — to drop
  8. squash — to crush
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. fall — the season
  11. squash — the sport
  12. date — the fruit
  13. hand — help
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bark — to shout
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. hand — in cards
  18. content — the amount
  19. fall — to drop
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — moving air

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