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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. content — happy
  4. firm — a company
  5. wind — moving air
  6. clip — to cut
  7. content — the amount
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. tube — a container
  10. ball — a dance
  11. wind — moving air
  12. firm — decided
  13. ball — a great time
  14. clip — a video
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. tube — the underground
  17. firm — steady
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. degree — an amount
  21. degree — temperature
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. degree — from a university
  24. clip — for paper

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