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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. tear — to rip
  3. hand — in cards
  4. bound — certain
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. spring — the season
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. bound — tied together
  9. perch — the fish
  10. cell — a phone
  11. spring — a coil
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. cell — in biology
  15. bound — obliged
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. tear — from crying
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. shower — rain
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. hand — help
  22. tear — from crying
  23. shower — to wash
  24. plane — a tool

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