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 116 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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. staff — employees
  3. bore — to tire
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. ground — the earth
  6. tube — the underground
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. content — happy
  11. content — the amount
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. bore — to drill
  15. band — a ring
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. staff — a stick
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. ground — a position
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. tube — a container
  23. ground — crushed
  24. staff — employees

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