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'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. firm — decided
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. spring — a coil
  6. stem — to come from
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. spring — the season
  9. spring — of water
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. ball — a dance
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. ball — a great time
  17. firm — a company
  18. coach — a trainer

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