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: last · bark · spring · cold · swing · bulb · hand · fall

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fall — to drop
  4. cold — not warm
  5. fall — the season
  6. hand — in cards
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cold — an illness
  9. last — to go on
  10. last — final
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. spring — of water
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. last — finally
  15. hand — help
  16. swing — to play on
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bulb — for light
  20. swing — music
  21. spring — a coil
  22. spring — the season
  23. bark — to shout
  24. hand — part of the 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