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. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. fine — all right
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. bat — the animal
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. file — a document
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. season — in sport
  16. season — of the year
  17. fine — high quality
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. pound — a weight
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. file — a tool
  22. file — a line of people
  23. content — the amount
  24. bat — for baseball

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