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 · tear · season · spring · jam · bat · arm · last

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. last — finally
  4. spring — of water
  5. spring — a coil
  6. wound — an injury
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. season — of the year
  9. wound — an injury
  10. tear — from crying
  11. last — final
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. season — in sport
  16. tear — to rip
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. spring — the season
  19. tear — from crying
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. last — to go on
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. jam — in traffic

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