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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. spring — the season
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. march — the month
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. swing — to play on
  7. staff — employees
  8. march — the month
  9. mate — a friend
  10. march — music
  11. mate — a partner
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. hand — in cards
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. staff — a stick
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. hand — help
  18. swing — in golf
  19. staff — employees
  20. swing — music
  21. spring — a coil
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. mate — to breed
  24. mouse — the animal

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