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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. cap — a hat
  3. file — a tool
  4. file — a line of people
  5. ball — a great time
  6. pop — to visit
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. spring — a coil
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. pop — music
  11. cap — of ice
  12. season — in sport
  13. pop — soda
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. squash — to crush
  16. season — of the year
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. file — a document
  21. squash — the sport
  22. cap — a lid
  23. spring — of water
  24. spring — the season

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