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 120 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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. season — in sport
  3. spell — a short time
  4. wind — moving air
  5. land — a country
  6. pound — a weight
  7. spring — a coil
  8. spring — the season
  9. wind — moving air
  10. net — after costs
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. season — of the year
  13. net — for catching
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. land — to come down
  18. spell — magic
  19. land — ground
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. net — in sport
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. spell — letters

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