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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. key — the most important part
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. chair — a leader
  5. tear — from crying
  6. spring — a coil
  7. drill — the tool
  8. branch — a division
  9. drill — army training
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. drill — a practice
  12. tear — to rip
  13. key — for a lock
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. spring — of water
  16. date — the fruit
  17. spell — letters
  18. tear — from crying
  19. spell — a short time
  20. spell — magic
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. spring — the season

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