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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. wake — a trail
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. cell — in biology
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. content — happy
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. fork — in a road
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. chest — of your body
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. cell — a phone
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — a box
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. content — the amount
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. stem — to come from

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