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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. key — the most important part
  6. spring — of water
  7. bark — to shout
  8. key — for a lock
  9. face — to point toward
  10. band — a ring
  11. band — a music group
  12. march — music
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. spring — the season
  16. spring — a coil
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. march — the month
  20. march — the month
  21. key — in music
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. face — part of the head

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