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: wind · bear · cell · date · kick · mine · content · pitch

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. bear — the animal
  5. bear — the animal
  6. cell — in biology
  7. mine — for digging
  8. pitch — completely
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. content — the amount
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. wind — moving air
  14. date — the fruit
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. content — happy
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. kick — in football
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. wind — moving air
  24. cell — a phone

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