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 · cell · board · clip · bay · march · charge · lean

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. spring — of water
  3. march — the month
  4. cell — a phone
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. lean — to bend
  7. charge — in control
  8. march — the month
  9. spring — the season
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. clip — a video
  12. march — music
  13. charge — electricity
  14. board — a committee
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. spring — a coil
  17. lean — thin
  18. charge — a price
  19. clip — for paper
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. board — to get on
  22. clip — to cut
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. cell — in biology

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