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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: ground · mine · bulb · fall · bear · date

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. ground — crushed
  3. ground — a position
  4. fall — the season
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. bulb — for light
  7. date — the fruit
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. ground — the earth
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. bear — the animal
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. bear — the animal
  16. mine — for digging
  17. bulb — for light
  18. fall — to drop

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