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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. ball — a great time
  5. spring — the season
  6. spring — a coil
  7. spring — of water
  8. roll — a list
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. ball — a dance
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. rash — hasty
  18. bat — the animal
  19. roll — a cake
  20. bore — to tire
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. bore — to drill
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. rash — a series

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