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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. content — the amount
  3. prune — to trim
  4. track — to keep track
  5. bound — certain
  6. bound — tied together
  7. wind — moving air
  8. spring — of water
  9. track — a song
  10. content — happy
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. prune — to trim
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. bound — obliged
  19. spring — a coil
  20. track — a path
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. wind — moving air
  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