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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. perch — the fish
  3. spring — a coil
  4. chest — a box
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bat — the animal
  9. spring — of water
  10. net — for catching
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. content — the amount
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. chest — of your body
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. net — in sport
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. content — happy
  21. rule — a law
  22. rule — government
  23. net — after costs
  24. spring — the season

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