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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. spring — the season
  3. firm — steady
  4. last — finally
  5. last — final
  6. spring — of water
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. firm — a company
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. saw — the tool
  11. row — to paddle
  12. clip — to cut
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. clip — for paper
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. spring — a coil
  18. saw — the tool
  19. dip — to sink
  20. row — a line
  21. last — to go on
  22. firm — decided
  23. vault — a safe
  24. clip — a video

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