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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. net — in sport
  4. chest — of your body
  5. spring — the season
  6. net — for catching
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. drill — the tool
  13. stem — to come from
  14. drill — a practice
  15. bulb — for light
  16. chest — of your body
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. drill — army training
  19. spring — a coil
  20. spring — of water
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. net — after costs
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. chest — a box

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