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: leaves · bat · jam · spring · shower · staff · cold · mate

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. mate — to breed
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. spring — of water
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. staff — employees
  10. mate — a friend
  11. spring — a coil
  12. staff — a stick
  13. bat — the animal
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. mate — a partner
  17. shower — rain
  18. shower — to wash
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. staff — employees
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cold — not warm

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