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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. march — the month
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. fall — to drop
  7. shower — rain
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. scale — size or range
  11. scale — in music
  12. fall — to drop
  13. march — music
  14. shower — to wash
  15. kick — in football
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. content — the amount
  18. fall — the season
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. rash — hasty
  22. rash — a series
  23. march — the month
  24. deal — to handle

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