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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. mark — a grade
  3. spring — a coil
  4. stem — to come from
  5. bat — the animal
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. spring — of water
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. spring — the season
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. mark — a trace
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. kid — child
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. rush — hurry
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. kid — to tease
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — an injury

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