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: face · leaves · root · kid · band · content · wound · hand

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. content — happy
  3. wound — an injury
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. band — a ring
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. face — to point toward
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. face — part of the head
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. kid — child
  15. content — the amount
  16. root — of a plant
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. wound — an injury
  19. face — to confront
  20. root — the cause
  21. kid — to tease
  22. band — a music group
  23. hand — in cards
  24. root — of a word

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