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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. file — a document
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. rock — a stone
  5. kid — child
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. capital — money
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. content — the amount
  12. kid — to tease
  13. content — happy
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. pit — a hole
  16. file — a line of people
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. pit — in a race
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. capital — a city
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. file — a tool
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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