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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: plane · content · spell · mark · leaves · kid

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. spell — magic
  3. content — the amount
  4. spell — a short time
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. mark — a grade
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. mark — a trace
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. kid — child
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. spell — letters
  14. kid — to tease
  15. plane — a tool
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. leaves — to go away

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