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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. clip — a video
  3. pop — music
  4. stem — to come from
  5. spring — a coil
  6. season — in sport
  7. march — the month
  8. spring — the season
  9. clip — to cut
  10. clip — for paper
  11. fork — in a road
  12. season — of the year
  13. march — music
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. track — a song
  16. track — to keep track
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. march — the month
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. track — a path
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. pop — to visit
  23. spring — of water
  24. season — to add flavour

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