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

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. mine — for digging
  3. spring — of water
  4. club — a group
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. bound — certain
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. club — for dancing
  10. shower — to wash
  11. bound — tied together
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. spring — a coil
  14. bound — obliged
  15. spring — the season
  16. ball — a great time
  17. shower — rain
  18. club — for golf

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