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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. spring — a coil
  3. tube — a container
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. cap — of ice
  7. spring — of water
  8. field — farmland
  9. tube — the underground
  10. field — for sport
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. present — the time now
  13. field — a subject
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. bark — to shout
  16. present — there
  17. cap — a hat
  18. present — a gift
  19. shower — rain
  20. row — to paddle
  21. shower — to wash
  22. row — a line
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. spring — the season

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