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 120 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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. branch — a division
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. chest — a box
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. content — happy
  8. spell — letters
  9. chest — of your body
  10. spell — a short time
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. spell — magic
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. last — final
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. last — to go on
  19. chest — of your body
  20. fork — in a road
  21. lie — to recline
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. last — finally
  24. content — the amount

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