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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. bound — tied together
  3. spring — of water
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. wound — an injury
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wound — an injury
  9. cap — a lid
  10. band — a music group
  11. prune — to trim
  12. bound — certain
  13. spring — the season
  14. prune — to trim
  15. bound — obliged
  16. shower — rain
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. shower — to wash
  20. spring — a coil
  21. band — a ring
  22. chair — a leader
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. cap — of ice

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