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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. spell — letters
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. content — happy
  5. pop — to visit
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. drill — army training
  8. content — the amount
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. stem — to come from
  11. tear — from crying
  12. capital — money
  13. tear — from crying
  14. row — a line
  15. capital — a city
  16. tear — to rip
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. drill — a practice
  19. pop — music
  20. spell — a short time
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. row — to paddle
  23. drill — the tool
  24. pop — soda

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