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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. net — after costs
  3. net — for catching
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bark — to shout
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. fall — to drop
  8. spring — of water
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. rash — hasty
  11. snap — to click
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. net — in sport
  14. fall — to drop
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bat — the animal
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. rash — a series
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. spring — a coil
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. stem — to come from
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. fall — 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