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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. stem — to come from
  3. pop — to visit
  4. snap — to click
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. pop — music
  7. toast — bread
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. spell — magic
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. pop — soda
  12. spell — a short time
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. spell — letters
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. tube — the underground
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. capital — a city
  20. tube — a container
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. capital — money
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. wave — of the sea

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