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: ground · mine · kid · roll · spring · coach · mate · sharp

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. ground — crushed
  3. mate — to breed
  4. spring — the season
  5. mine — for digging
  6. spring — a coil
  7. ground — a position
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. roll — a cake
  10. kid — to tease
  11. roll — a list
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. sharp — clever
  15. spring — of water
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. kid — child
  18. mate — a partner
  19. mate — a friend
  20. ground — the earth
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. coach — a trainer

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