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: bat · content · bound · tube · fine · field · spring · rest

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. spring — a coil
  3. field — farmland
  4. rest — a break
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. bound — obliged
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. tube — the underground
  9. fine — all right
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. fine — high quality
  12. rest — what's left
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. tube — a container
  15. spring — of water
  16. content — happy
  17. bound — certain
  18. bound — tied together
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. rest — what's left
  21. field — a subject
  22. field — for sport
  23. content — the amount
  24. bat — the animal

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