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: spring · content · bear · field · branch · plane · wound · kid

  1. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. kid — to tease
  4. field — farmland
  5. content — the amount
  6. kid — child
  7. spring — a coil
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. wound — an injury
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. field — a subject
  12. spring — the season
  13. spring — of water
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. field — for sport
  18. content — happy
  19. wound — an injury
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. bear — the animal
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. branch — a division
  24. bear — the animal

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