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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. spring — of water
  5. spring — the season
  6. bulb — for light
  7. capital — a city
  8. bulb — for light
  9. capital — money
  10. spell — a short time
  11. spring — a coil
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. rock — a stone
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. mine — for digging
  16. rock — music
  17. spell — letters
  18. spell — magic

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