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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. cold — an illness
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. content — happy
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. cold — not warm
  8. content — the amount
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. face — to point toward
  12. tear — to rip
  13. tear — from crying
  14. drill — the tool
  15. tear — from crying
  16. face — to confront
  17. drill — army training
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. face — part of the head
  21. mine — for digging
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. squash — to crush
  24. drill — a practice

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