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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. fine — all right
  3. rock — music
  4. net — after costs
  5. clip — to cut
  6. net — in sport
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. spring — the season
  9. plane — a tool
  10. spring — a coil
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. spring — of water
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. clip — for paper
  18. clip — a video
  19. rock — a stone
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. net — for catching
  23. fine — high quality
  24. patient — a sick person

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