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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. bat — the animal
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. land — a country
  7. spring — of water
  8. pop — soda
  9. pop — to visit
  10. stem — to come from
  11. spring — a coil
  12. pop — music
  13. land — to come down
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. spell — letters
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. spring — the season
  19. prune — to trim
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. land — ground
  22. prune — to trim
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. spell — magic

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