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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. ground — a position
  3. mate — a partner
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. land — ground
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. branch — a division
  9. land — a country
  10. mate — to breed
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — to trim
  13. mate — a friend
  14. spring — the season
  15. spring — of water
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. ground — crushed
  18. ground — the earth
  19. spring — a coil
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. land — to come down
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. leaves — lets stay

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