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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. chair — a leader
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. degree — from a university
  5. lean — thin
  6. degree — temperature
  7. content — the amount
  8. lean — to bend
  9. degree — an amount
  10. pound — a weight
  11. spring — a coil
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. spring — of water
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. roll — a list
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. roll — a cake
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. spring — the season

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