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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. bark — to shout
  4. spring — of water
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. mate — a friend
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. drill — a practice
  10. mine — for digging
  11. drill — army training
  12. season — in sport
  13. drill — the tool
  14. season — of the year
  15. spring — the season
  16. mate — to breed
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. capital — a city
  19. spring — a coil
  20. mate — a partner
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. sharp — clever
  24. capital — money

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