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 · lie · chest · saw · game · drill · content · kick

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. drill — army training
  3. saw — the tool
  4. chest — a box
  5. mine — for digging
  6. chest — of your body
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. content — the amount
  9. game — wild animals
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. lie — to recline
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. chest — of your body
  15. saw — the tool
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. game — a match
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. drill — a practice
  21. content — happy
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. kick — in football
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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