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 116 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: net · bound · stick · tube · shower · race · mine · content

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. tube — the underground
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. net — in sport
  5. shower — rain
  6. content — happy
  7. net — for catching
  8. race — a contest
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. bound — tied together
  11. tube — a container
  12. race — the arms race
  13. bound — obliged
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. net — after costs
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. mine — for digging
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. content — the amount
  20. shower — to wash
  21. race — humankind
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. bound — certain
  24. tube — in a tire

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