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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. spell — letters
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. spring — of water
  5. spell — magic
  6. ground — crushed
  7. spring — a coil
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. land — ground
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — moving air
  12. board — a committee
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. spring — the season
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. mine — for digging
  18. board — to get on
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. land — a country
  21. ground — the earth
  22. spell — a short time
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. ground — a position

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