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: current · content · lean · chest · sharp · patient · court · net

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. current — happening now
  4. court — of a king
  5. content — the amount
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. net — after costs
  9. current — of water
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. current — electric
  12. net — in sport
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. chest — of your body
  16. sharp — clever
  17. chest — a box
  18. chest — of your body
  19. court — for sport
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. court — of law
  22. content — happy
  23. lean — thin
  24. net — for catching

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