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: hand · wax · content · land · mouse · chip · stock · drill

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. chip — to eat
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. chip — for betting
  5. land — a country
  6. stock — shares
  7. land — ground
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. content — the amount
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. hand — help
  12. wax — to grow
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. drill — army training
  16. drill — a practice
  17. stock — goods
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. drill — the tool
  21. hand — in cards
  22. land — to come down
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. content — videos and posts

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