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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. mine — for digging
  5. land — a country
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. spring — a coil
  8. present — there
  9. pass — a permit
  10. land — to come down
  11. bark — to shout
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. spring — the season
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. squash — to crush
  18. cell — in biology
  19. present — the time now
  20. spring — of water
  21. present — a gift
  22. cell — a phone
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. squash — the sport

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