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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. clip — to cut
  3. last — final
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. last — to go on
  7. clip — a video
  8. clip — for paper
  9. last — finally
  10. pitch — completely
  11. spring — of water
  12. shower — rain
  13. spring — a coil
  14. season — in sport
  15. shower — to wash
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. season — of the year

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