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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. bass — the fish
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. bulb — for light
  5. kid — to tease
  6. spring — the season
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. bulb — for light
  10. cold — not warm
  11. track — a song
  12. spring — a coil
  13. spring — of water
  14. face — to confront
  15. kid — child
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. bass — low music
  18. face — to point toward
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. track — to keep track
  21. track — a path
  22. cold — an illness
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. face — part of the head

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