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: cold · chair · drill · content · pass · bound · spell · present

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. bound — obliged
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. chair — a leader
  6. spell — letters
  7. present — the time now
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. bound — tied together
  10. spell — magic
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. cold — an illness
  13. bound — certain
  14. present — a gift
  15. content — happy
  16. drill — army training
  17. spell — a short time
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. cold — not warm
  21. drill — a practice
  22. present — there
  23. pass — a permit
  24. drill — the tool

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