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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  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. hand — in cards
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bear — the animal
  4. prune — to trim
  5. spring — the season
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. tube — the underground
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. chair — a leader
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. fall — the season
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. fall — to drop
  17. spring — a coil
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. prune — to trim
  21. tube — a container
  22. hand — help
  23. fall — to drop
  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