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 · bowl · track · rest · chest · date · rash · net

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. chest — of your body
  3. spring — the season
  4. rest — a break
  5. net — after costs
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. track — a path
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. track — a song
  11. rest — what's left
  12. track — to keep track
  13. rash — hasty
  14. rest — what's left
  15. spring — of water
  16. spring — a coil
  17. net — in sport
  18. net — for catching
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. chest — a box
  21. chest — of your body
  22. date — the fruit
  23. rash — a series
  24. bowl — a dish

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