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

Word bank: last · bound · kid · prune · land · calf · content · mark

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. content — happy
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. bound — tied together
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. land — to come down
  7. bound — obliged
  8. kid — child
  9. kid — to tease
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. land — ground
  12. prune — to trim
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. mark — a grade
  17. content — the amount
  18. mark — a trace
  19. land — a country
  20. last — finally
  21. prune — to trim
  22. last — to go on
  23. bound — certain
  24. calf — of the leg

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