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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. spring — a coil
  3. ground — the earth
  4. bark — to shout
  5. shower — to wash
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. shower — rain
  8. spring — the season
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. spring — of water
  14. cell — a phone
  15. ball — a dance
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. ground — a position
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. cell — in biology
  20. ground — crushed
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. ball — a great time

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