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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. ball — a great time
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. rush — hurry
  5. fork — in a road
  6. mate — to breed
  7. track — to keep track
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. spring — a coil
  10. shower — to wash
  11. mate — a friend
  12. track — a path
  13. track — a song
  14. shower — rain
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. ball — a dance
  17. mate — a partner
  18. spring — the season
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. bank — for money
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. bank — of a river
  24. spring — of water

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