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: march · cold · spell · bulb · hide · wake · net · spring

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. net — after costs
  4. march — music
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. net — for catching
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cold — not warm
  10. spring — of water
  11. net — in sport
  12. wake — a trail
  13. spring — the season
  14. spell — letters
  15. march — the month
  16. bulb — for light
  17. spell — magic
  18. spell — a short time
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. bulb — for light
  22. spring — a coil
  23. march — the month
  24. wake — before a funeral

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