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: spring · bark · prune · wind · rest · current · game · bound

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. rest — a break
  3. game — a match
  4. spring — the season
  5. wind — moving air
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. spring — a coil
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bound — tied together
  12. wind — moving air
  13. rest — what's left
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. prune — to trim
  16. game — wild animals
  17. spring — of water
  18. prune — to trim
  19. current — happening now
  20. current — of water
  21. rest — what's left
  22. bound — obliged
  23. bark — to shout
  24. current — electric

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