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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. kid — to tease
  3. ball — a great time
  4. spring — the season
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. kid — child
  7. cap — of ice
  8. rock — a stone
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. ball — a dance
  12. bat — the animal
  13. rock — music
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. spring — a coil
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. cap — a hat
  19. cap — a lid
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. spring — of water
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. toast — bread

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