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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. current — happening now
  5. last — finally
  6. net — in sport
  7. net — for catching
  8. current — of water
  9. spring — of water
  10. roll — a cake
  11. chest — of your body
  12. last — final
  13. last — to go on
  14. land — ground
  15. chest — of your body
  16. net — after costs
  17. stem — to come from
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. spring — the season
  20. land — a country
  21. roll — a list
  22. current — electric
  23. chest — a box
  24. land — to come down

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