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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. spring — a coil
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. field — farmland
  8. clip — to cut
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. spring — of water
  11. season — in sport
  12. field — for sport
  13. clip — for paper
  14. season — of the year
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. wax — to grow
  17. clip — a video
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. bound — tied together
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. spring — the season
  22. field — a subject
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. bound — certain

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