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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. spring — a coil
  3. object — an aim
  4. drill — the tool
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. drill — a practice
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. mark — a grade
  11. wind — moving air
  12. bulb — for light
  13. spring — of water
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. object — a thing
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. date — the fruit
  19. wind — moving air
  20. bulb — for light
  21. spring — the season
  22. mark — a trace
  23. drill — army training
  24. pound — a weight

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