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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. lean — thin
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. degree — an amount
  8. degree — from a university
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. last — final
  12. degree — temperature
  13. wind — moving air
  14. last — finally
  15. foot — a measure
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. last — to go on
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. toast — bread
  20. wind — moving air
  21. content — the amount
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. lean — to bend
  24. content — videos and posts

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