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 116 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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. rest — what's left
  4. drill — the tool
  5. content — happy
  6. court — of law
  7. object — a thing
  8. cold — not warm
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. drill — a practice
  11. current — happening now
  12. rest — what's left
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. object — an aim
  15. court — for sport
  16. scale — in music
  17. court — of a king
  18. content — the amount
  19. current — electric
  20. cold — an illness
  21. rest — a break
  22. drill — army training
  23. current — of water
  24. scale — size or range

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