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: mine · wound · wind · content · jam · rash · pitcher · chest

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. rash — a series
  8. content — happy
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. content — the amount
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. wind — moving air
  13. chest — of your body
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. chest — of your body
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. wind — moving air
  19. chest — a box
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. mine — for digging
  22. rash — hasty
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. wound — an injury

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