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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. spring — of water
  3. cap — of ice
  4. cap — a hat
  5. degree — an amount
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. date — the fruit
  8. snap — to click
  9. vault — a safe
  10. march — the month
  11. rest — a break
  12. degree — from a university
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. spring — a coil
  17. cap — a lid
  18. march — the month
  19. march — music
  20. degree — temperature
  21. rest — what's left
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. rest — what's left
  24. date — on the calendar

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