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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. cell — a phone
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. current — happening now
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. chest — of your body
  8. row — to paddle
  9. chest — a box
  10. row — a line
  11. current — electric
  12. spring — the season
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. wax — to grow
  15. pop — to visit
  16. spring — of water
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. current — of water
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. pop — soda
  21. chest — of your body
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. cell — in biology
  24. pop — music

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