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: tear · content · current · rock · wound · land · pitch · present

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. present — the time now
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. wound — an injury
  6. land — ground
  7. rock — music
  8. current — of water
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — from crying
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. wound — an injury
  14. land — a country
  15. land — to come down
  16. rock — a stone
  17. current — electric
  18. tear — to rip
  19. current — happening now
  20. pitch — completely
  21. present — a gift
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. present — there
  24. content — the amount

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