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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. ground — crushed
  4. key — the most important part
  5. key — for a lock
  6. hand — help
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. spring — the season
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. chest — of your body
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. wound — an injury
  14. chest — of your body
  15. ground — the earth
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. hand — in cards
  18. key — in music
  19. ground — a position
  20. spring — of water
  21. wound — an injury
  22. chest — a box
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. spring — a coil

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