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 120 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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. spring — a coil
  4. charge — a price
  5. spring — the season
  6. cap — of ice
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. present — a gift
  9. row — a line
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. row — to paddle
  12. present — there
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. cap — a hat
  15. band — a music group
  16. charge — electricity
  17. cap — a lid
  18. mine — for digging
  19. charge — in control
  20. band — a ring
  21. spring — of water
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. present — the time now

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