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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. cell — in biology
  3. bore — to drill
  4. game — wild animals
  5. bore — to tire
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. content — the amount
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. field — a subject
  10. mate — a partner
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. field — farmland
  14. game — a match
  15. field — for sport
  16. roll — a list
  17. cell — a phone
  18. mate — a friend
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. mate — to breed
  21. content — happy
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. chair — a leader

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