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 · wind · mine · stick · date · degree · track · ground

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. track — a song
  4. wind — moving air
  5. track — a path
  6. track — to keep track
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. date — the fruit
  9. mine — for digging
  10. ground — the earth
  11. degree — an amount
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. degree — temperature
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. ground — a position
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. wind — moving air
  18. spring — a coil
  19. spring — the season
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. degree — from a university
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. ground — crushed
  24. mine — belonging to me

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