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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  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. mine — for digging
  2. face — to point toward
  3. last — final
  4. face — to confront
  5. last — finally
  6. spring — of water
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. last — to go on
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. spring — the season
  13. race — a contest
  14. pop — music
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. pop — soda
  17. pass — a permit
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. face — part of the head
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. race — the arms race
  22. race — humankind
  23. pop — to visit
  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