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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. spring — of water
  4. fall — to drop
  5. present — there
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. spring — a coil
  8. present — a gift
  9. scale — size or range
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. file — a document
  16. fall — the season
  17. sharp — clever
  18. file — a tool
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. file — a line of people
  21. scale — in music
  22. stem — to come from
  23. spring — the season
  24. present — the time now

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