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: wound · squash · bear · present · content · track · file · pop

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. present — a gift
  4. squash — the sport
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. track — a song
  7. bear — the animal
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. wound — an injury
  10. pop — to visit
  11. pop — soda
  12. squash — to crush
  13. content — the amount
  14. bear — the animal
  15. track — a path
  16. file — a tool
  17. present — there
  18. content — happy
  19. file — a line of people
  20. present — the time now
  21. pop — music
  22. track — to keep track
  23. wound — an injury
  24. file — a document

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