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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. spell — letters
  3. spell — a short time
  4. stem — to come from
  5. cue — a signal
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. mate — a friend
  9. degree — an amount
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. spell — magic
  12. face — to point toward
  13. face — to confront
  14. mate — to breed
  15. degree — from a university
  16. degree — temperature
  17. cue — for pool
  18. spring — of water
  19. spring — a coil
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. cue — a hint
  22. face — part of the head
  23. spring — the season
  24. jam — a tight spot

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