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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. pass — a permit
  3. stock — goods
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. spring — a coil
  7. stock — shares
  8. march — music
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. plane — a tool
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. chest — of your body
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. march — the month
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. march — the month
  20. spring — of water
  21. chest — a box
  22. cold — not warm
  23. cold — an illness
  24. chest — of your body

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