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 120 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 · wound · shower · cell · bulb · tube · bat · cap

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. bat — the animal
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. wound — an injury
  5. cell — in biology
  6. cap — a hat
  7. tube — the underground
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. spring — the season
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. bulb — for light
  13. spring — a coil
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. cap — of ice
  16. tube — a container
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. shower — to wash
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. cell — a phone
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. shower — rain
  23. cap — a lid
  24. bulb — for light

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