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 124 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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. lean — to bend
  3. court — for sport
  4. content — the amount
  5. cap — a hat
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. plane — a tool
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. court — of a king
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. kid — to tease
  17. content — happy
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. cap — a lid
  20. court — of law
  21. cap — of ice
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. lean — thin
  24. plane — an aircraft

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