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 124 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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. spring — of water
  3. wind — moving air
  4. staff — employees
  5. tube — a container
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. staff — employees
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — an injury
  10. spring — the season
  11. fall — the season
  12. tube — the underground
  13. wind — moving air
  14. fall — to drop
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. swing — in golf
  17. swing — music
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. fall — to drop
  21. staff — a stick
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. date — the fruit
  24. swing — to play on

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