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 116 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. David sat on the ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. swing — to play on
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. bound — obliged
  6. swing — music
  7. bass — the fish
  8. bass — low music
  9. spring — of water
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. bound — certain
  13. spring — a coil
  14. prune — to trim
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. file — a line of people
  17. file — a tool
  18. bound — tied together
  19. prune — to trim
  20. scale — size or range
  21. pitch — completely
  22. swing — in golf
  23. scale — in music
  24. file — a document

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