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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. spell — magic
  6. bear — the animal
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. file — a document
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. pop — music
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. mine — for digging
  16. spell — a short time
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. spell — letters
  19. file — a tool
  20. file — a line of people
  21. pop — soda
  22. pop — to visit
  23. rock — a stone
  24. bear — the animal

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