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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. root — of a word
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. cold — not warm
  7. spring — the season
  8. spring — a coil
  9. cold — an illness
  10. pop — to visit
  11. spring — of water
  12. pop — music
  13. pop — soda
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. root — the cause
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. root — of a plant

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