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: wound · pop · pit · sharp · spring · season · mate · land

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. mate — a partner
  3. spring — a coil
  4. season — in sport
  5. pop — to visit
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. land — ground
  8. spring — of water
  9. pop — music
  10. spring — the season
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. sharp — clever
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. pit — in a race
  15. season — of the year
  16. pop — soda
  17. mate — a friend
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. land — a country
  22. wound — an injury
  23. land — to come down
  24. mate — to breed

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