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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. content — happy
  3. spring — of water
  4. bulb — for light
  5. spring — a coil
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. bulb — for light
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. mate — to breed
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. content — the amount
  13. mate — a friend
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. spring — the season
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. chair — a leader
  18. mate — a partner
  19. shower — to wash
  20. shower — rain
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. chair — a professorship

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