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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. firm — steady
  3. spring — the season
  4. band — a ring
  5. squash — to crush
  6. clip — a video
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. mate — to breed
  9. wax — to grow
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. clip — to cut
  12. squash — the sport
  13. clip — for paper
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. mate — a friend
  16. firm — a company
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. band — a music group
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. spring — a coil
  22. branch — a division
  23. firm — decided
  24. mate — a partner

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