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: saw · content · wound · cold · pound · plane · stem · kid

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. wound — an injury
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. pound — a weight
  6. content — happy
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. saw — the tool
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. kid — to tease
  14. kid — child
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. wound — an injury
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. plane — a tool
  19. saw — the tool
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. stem — to come from
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cold — not warm

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