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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. mine — for digging
  3. staff — employees
  4. spring — the season
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. charge — in control
  8. clip — a video
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. charge — a price
  11. spring — a coil
  12. clip — for paper
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. staff — a stick
  15. content — happy
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. clip — to cut
  20. spring — of water
  21. charge — electricity
  22. wake — a trail
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. staff — employees

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