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: present · chest · mate · rush · bat · spell · saw · content

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. bat — the animal
  3. rush — hurry
  4. present — a gift
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. spell — magic
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. chest — of your body
  10. mate — a friend
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. spell — letters
  14. chest — a box
  15. saw — the tool
  16. content — happy
  17. spell — a short time
  18. mate — to breed
  19. mate — a partner
  20. chest — of your body
  21. present — the time now
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. content — the amount
  24. present — there

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