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 120 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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. last — finally
  3. season — in sport
  4. last — final
  5. fine — high quality
  6. bulb — for light
  7. capital — a city
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. fine — all right
  10. bulb — for light
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. branch — a division
  13. spring — the season
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. last — to go on
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. season — of the year
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. spring — a coil
  23. spring — of water
  24. capital — money

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