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: roll · chest · bay · content · file · court · field · land

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. content — happy
  4. chest — of your body
  5. field — a subject
  6. land — to come down
  7. content — the amount
  8. roll — a list
  9. land — ground
  10. chest — of your body
  11. court — of law
  12. file — a tool
  13. field — for sport
  14. land — a country
  15. court — for sport
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. file — a line of people
  18. field — farmland
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. chest — a box
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. court — of a king
  24. roll — a cake

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