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 · tube · temple · mouse · cell · drill · cold · plane

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. cold — an illness
  3. spring — the season
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. plane — a tool
  6. drill — army training
  7. spring — of water
  8. drill — a practice
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. cold — not warm
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. drill — the tool
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. cell — in biology
  18. tube — a container
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. tube — the underground
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. cell — a phone
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. temple — side of the head

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