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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  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. fork — a garden tool
  2. spring — a coil
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. bat — the animal
  5. mark — a trace
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. spell — letters
  8. last — to go on
  9. last — finally
  10. fork — in a road
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. clip — to cut
  13. clip — a video
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. clip — for paper
  17. last — final
  18. mark — a grade
  19. spring — of water
  20. spell — magic
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. spring — the season
  23. spell — a short time
  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