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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  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. chest — a box
  2. craft — boats
  3. cold — not warm
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. craft — a skill
  6. content — the amount
  7. wind — moving air
  8. chest — of your body
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. wind — moving air
  11. tear — to rip
  12. cold — an illness
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. tear — from crying
  16. pop — soda
  17. pop — to visit
  18. tear — from crying
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. chest — of your body
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. pop — music
  23. content — happy
  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