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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. tear — to rip
  3. pop — music
  4. object — a thing
  5. march — the month
  6. spring — the season
  7. bulb — for light
  8. pop — soda
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. bulb — for light
  12. rash — hasty
  13. spell — a short time
  14. object — an aim
  15. tear — from crying
  16. spring — a coil
  17. pop — to visit
  18. march — the month
  19. spring — of water
  20. tear — from crying
  21. object — to protest
  22. march — music
  23. rash — a series
  24. spell — magic

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