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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. content — the amount
  3. wound — an injury
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. content — happy
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. last — to go on
  9. last — finally
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. present — the time now
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. present — a gift
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. present — there
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. perch — the fish
  21. last — final
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. date — the fruit

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