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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. shower — rain
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. ground — crushed
  6. ground — a position
  7. row — a line
  8. content — the amount
  9. bank — of a river
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. ground — the earth
  16. bank — for money
  17. bank — for money
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. row — to paddle
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. shower — to wash

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