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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. content — happy
  3. root — the cause
  4. content — the amount
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. vault — a safe
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. bound — obliged
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. track — a path
  13. track — a song
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cold — an illness
  16. root — of a plant
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. track — to keep track
  19. root — of a word
  20. bound — tied together
  21. wake — a trail
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. bound — certain

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