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. The water is too ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. spring — the season
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. saw — the tool
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. spring — of water
  10. file — a tool
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a line of people
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. cold — an illness
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. spring — a coil
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bulb — for light
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. bulb — for light
  23. fork — in a road
  24. saw — the tool

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