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 116 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: ground · file · stem · season · wind · pop · bat · lean

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. lean — thin
  3. ground — a position
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. ground — the earth
  6. bat — the animal
  7. pop — to visit
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. season — of the year
  10. stem — to come from
  11. file — a tool
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. file — a document
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. wind — moving air
  16. pop — music
  17. file — a line of people
  18. wind — moving air
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. lean — to bend
  21. ground — crushed
  22. season — in sport
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. pop — soda

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