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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. spring — the season
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. rush — hurry
  6. land — a country
  7. last — final
  8. object — an aim
  9. spring — a coil
  10. land — to come down
  11. object — to protest
  12. land — ground
  13. wind — moving air
  14. cap — a hat
  15. cap — a lid
  16. wind — moving air
  17. chair — a leader
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. last — to go on
  20. cap — of ice
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. spring — of water
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. last — finally

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