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: bass · spring · last · tear · chest · ground · leaves · current

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. last — to go on
  3. spring — a coil
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. ground — the earth
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. spring — of water
  10. chest — a box
  11. current — electric
  12. ground — crushed
  13. bass — the fish
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. current — of water
  16. tear — from crying
  17. spring — the season
  18. tear — from crying
  19. last — final
  20. tear — to rip
  21. current — happening now
  22. last — finally
  23. bass — low music
  24. chest — of your body

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