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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. hand — in cards
  7. spring — a coil
  8. spell — letters
  9. spell — a short time
  10. spell — magic
  11. band — a ring
  12. march — music
  13. spring — of water
  14. shower — rain
  15. march — the month
  16. shower — to wash
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. band — a music group
  19. march — the month
  20. wind — moving air
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. hand — help
  24. wind — moving air

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