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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. stem — to come from
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. wound — an injury
  7. march — the month
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. rash — hasty
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. spring — the season
  12. row — to paddle
  13. last — final
  14. wound — an injury
  15. spring — a coil
  16. march — music
  17. march — the month
  18. row — a line
  19. last — to go on
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. spring — of water
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. rash — a series

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