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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. degree — from a university
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. spring — of water
  7. spring — a coil
  8. bore — to tire
  9. degree — temperature
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. bear — the animal
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. season — of the year
  14. spring — the season
  15. bore — to drill
  16. file — a line of people
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. file — a document
  19. bear — the animal
  20. degree — an amount
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. season — in sport
  23. file — a tool
  24. pitch — completely

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