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 120 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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. land — to come down
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wax — to grow
  5. scale — in music
  6. content — happy
  7. wound — an injury
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. bore — to tire
  15. content — the amount
  16. scale — size or range
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. bore — to drill
  19. cell — in biology
  20. pitch — completely
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. land — ground
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. land — a country

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