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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. land — a country
  3. swing — in golf
  4. bark — to shout
  5. content — the amount
  6. land — ground
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. content — happy
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. cold — not warm
  12. scale — in music
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. land — to come down
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. swing — music
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cold — an illness
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. swing — to play on
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. kick — in football

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