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 · bowl · tear · hand · fall · stick · content · bat

  1. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. content — happy
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. tear — to rip
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. fall — to drop
  8. tear — from crying
  9. hand — help
  10. fall — to drop
  11. tear — from crying
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. bat — the animal
  16. fall — the season
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. hand — in cards
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mine — for digging
  24. content — the amount

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