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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. bat — the animal
  3. tube — a container
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. spring — the season
  8. tube — the underground
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. stock — shares
  12. spring — of water
  13. sharp — clever
  14. saw — the tool
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. bound — obliged
  18. bound — tied together
  19. stock — goods
  20. saw — the tool
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. bound — certain
  24. sharp — exactly

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