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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. last — final
  3. content — happy
  4. face — to point toward
  5. face — part of the head
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. ball — a dance
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. ball — a great time
  10. bass — low music
  11. hand — help
  12. face — to confront
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. last — to go on
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. bass — the fish
  19. last — finally
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. content — the amount
  24. hand — in cards

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