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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. content — happy
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. swing — to play on
  7. race — the arms race
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. bear — the animal
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. race — humankind
  12. fork — in a road
  13. file — a tool
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. file — a line of people
  19. dip — to sink
  20. file — a document
  21. swing — music
  22. race — a contest
  23. content — the amount
  24. swing — in golf

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