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 120 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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. ground — a position
  3. net — after costs
  4. ground — crushed
  5. wax — to grow
  6. net — in sport
  7. ground — the earth
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. pop — to visit
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. bark — to shout
  14. pop — soda
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. pop — music
  17. spring — the season
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. snap — to click
  22. net — for catching
  23. spring — a coil
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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