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: date · pop · rush · content · toast · hand · field · bat

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. pop — soda
  3. field — a subject
  4. toast — bread
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. content — the amount
  9. content — happy
  10. hand — help
  11. bat — the animal
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. field — for sport
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. hand — in cards
  19. rush — hurry
  20. pop — to visit
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. pop — music
  23. field — farmland
  24. date — the fruit

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