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: land · saw · prune · march · kid · content · spell · safe

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. content — happy
  3. saw — the tool
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. land — ground
  7. spell — letters
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. march — the month
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. kid — child
  12. prune — to trim
  13. spell — a short time
  14. march — the month
  15. saw — the tool
  16. kid — to tease
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. prune — to trim
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. land — to come down
  22. spell — magic
  23. march — music
  24. land — a country

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