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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. content — happy
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. plane — a tool
  6. degree — temperature
  7. prune — to trim
  8. last — to go on
  9. race — humankind
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. race — a contest
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. prune — to trim
  18. pitch — completely
  19. degree — an amount
  20. degree — from a university
  21. last — final
  22. race — the arms race
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. last — finally

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