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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. land — to come down
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. face — to confront
  5. face — to point toward
  6. firm — a company
  7. face — part of the head
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. scale — size or range
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. hand — help
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. land — ground
  16. content — the amount
  17. land — a country
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. hand — in cards
  20. stem — to come from
  21. scale — in music
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. firm — steady
  24. firm — decided

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