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: wind · tear · content · land · perch · bound · cap · roll

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. tear — from crying
  3. cap — a hat
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. tear — from crying
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. land — to come down
  8. cap — of ice
  9. land — ground
  10. bound — obliged
  11. content — the amount
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. roll — a list
  14. roll — a cake
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. perch — the fish
  17. land — a country
  18. tear — to rip
  19. cap — a lid
  20. bound — tied together
  21. bound — certain
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — to turn a key

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