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 120 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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. stem — to come from
  3. bass — the fish
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. net — after costs
  7. tear — from crying
  8. bound — obliged
  9. cap — of ice
  10. bound — tied together
  11. lean — thin
  12. cap — a lid
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bass — low music
  17. net — for catching
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. bound — certain
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. tear — to rip
  22. cap — a hat
  23. net — in sport
  24. patient — a sick person

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