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: fork · cabinet · current · roll · content · spring · kid · racket

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. spring — the season
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. content — the amount
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. fork — in a road
  11. current — happening now
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. kid — child
  16. current — of water
  17. roll — a list
  18. roll — a cake
  19. kid — to tease
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. spring — of water
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. current — electric
  24. spring — a coil

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