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 124 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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. band — a music group
  3. cell — a phone
  4. cell — in biology
  5. last — finally
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. fall — to drop
  8. spring — of water
  9. current — electric
  10. spring — the season
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. spring — a coil
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — to trim
  16. fall — to drop
  17. current — of water
  18. current — happening now
  19. last — to go on
  20. fall — the season
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. band — a ring
  24. pass — a permit

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