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 116 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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. season — of the year
  3. file — a tool
  4. file — a line of people
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. bore — to tire
  8. spring — of water
  9. bore — to drill
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. spring — a coil
  12. content — the amount
  13. cold — an illness
  14. season — in sport
  15. content — happy
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. file — a document
  19. cold — not warm
  20. scale — in music
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. scale — size or range
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. bore — gave birth

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