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: kid · stock · root · bulb · spring · wound · stem · march

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. stem — to come from
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. stock — shares
  5. march — the month
  6. bulb — for light
  7. wound — an injury
  8. root — the cause
  9. bulb — for light
  10. root — of a plant
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. wound — an injury
  13. spring — of water
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. kid — to tease
  17. spring — a coil
  18. march — music
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. stock — goods
  22. root — of a word
  23. kid — child
  24. march — the month

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