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 116 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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. saw — the tool
  4. mine — for digging
  5. spring — of water
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. pop — soda
  8. last — finally
  9. last — to go on
  10. season — of the year
  11. spring — a coil
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bark — to shout
  16. pop — music
  17. kid — child
  18. spring — the season
  19. last — final
  20. season — in sport
  21. saw — the tool
  22. kid — to tease
  23. pop — to visit
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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