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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. plane — a tool
  4. capital — a city
  5. last — to go on
  6. spring — a coil
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. prune — to trim
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. wound — an injury
  12. last — final
  13. capital — money
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. kick — in football
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. spring — of water
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. prune — to trim
  23. last — finally
  24. wound — an injury

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