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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. race — humankind
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. court — of law
  5. saw — the tool
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of a king
  8. vault — a safe
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. track — to keep track
  11. track — a song
  12. game — a match
  13. content — happy
  14. race — a contest
  15. race — the arms race
  16. game — wild animals
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. row — a line
  19. saw — the tool
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. row — to paddle
  23. track — a path
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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