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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. spring — a coil
  5. stem — to come from
  6. spring — the season
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. object — an aim
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. pitch — completely
  12. object — to protest
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. bass — the fish
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. game — a match
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. tube — the underground
  19. spring — of water
  20. object — a thing
  21. tube — a container
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. game — wild animals
  24. wave — with your hand

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