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 120 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: swing · ground · track · craft · fork · spell · content · clip

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. content — the amount
  3. clip — to cut
  4. swing — music
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. spell — letters
  8. fork — in a road
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. ground — crushed
  11. track — a song
  12. spell — a short time
  13. clip — for paper
  14. ground — the earth
  15. swing — to play on
  16. ground — a position
  17. track — to keep track
  18. track — a path
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. swing — in golf
  21. craft — a skill
  22. spell — magic
  23. clip — a video
  24. content — happy

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