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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  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. rock — music
  2. bass — low music
  3. spring — the season
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. net — in sport
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. bass — the fish
  8. rock — a stone
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. net — after costs
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. clip — a video
  13. spring — a coil
  14. shower — rain
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. net — for catching
  17. craft — a skill
  18. craft — boats
  19. clip — for paper
  20. clip — to cut
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. shower — to wash
  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