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 need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. spring — the season
  3. content — happy
  4. chest — of your body
  5. spring — a coil
  6. tear — to rip
  7. tube — a container
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. content — the amount
  10. tube — the underground
  11. bound — obliged
  12. tear — from crying
  13. spring — of water
  14. chest — a box
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. mark — a trace
  17. bound — certain
  18. branch — a division
  19. mark — a grade
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bound — tied together
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. chest — of your body
  24. branch — of a tree

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