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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. prune — to trim
  4. rock — music
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. tube — the underground
  7. snap — to click
  8. court — for sport
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. tube — a container
  12. rock — a stone
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. content — happy
  15. kid — child
  16. kid — to tease
  17. court — of a king
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. net — after costs
  21. net — for catching
  22. court — of law
  23. net — in sport
  24. rock — to move gently

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