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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. race — humankind
  3. spell — magic
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. spring — of water
  6. race — the arms race
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. degree — an amount
  9. spell — letters
  10. key — the most important part
  11. cell — a phone
  12. vault — a safe
  13. prune — to trim
  14. cell — in biology
  15. prune — to trim
  16. key — for a lock
  17. degree — temperature
  18. degree — from a university
  19. spring — a coil
  20. race — a contest
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. key — in music
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. spell — a short time

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