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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. last — finally
  3. bound — obliged
  4. shower — to wash
  5. bound — tied together
  6. spring — of water
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. root — of a plant
  10. root — of a word
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. last — to go on
  13. current — electric
  14. clip — for paper
  15. bound — certain
  16. clip — a video
  17. current — happening now
  18. shower — rain
  19. spring — the season
  20. root — the cause
  21. clip — to cut
  22. spring — a coil
  23. current — of water
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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