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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. spring — of water
  3. current — electric
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. bat — the animal
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. spring — a coil
  8. season — in sport
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. current — happening now
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. branch — a division
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. spring — the season
  18. current — of water
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. stand — to bear
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. season — of the year
  24. game — wild animals

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