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: tear · lash · spring · cap · sharp · bulb · content · cold

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. tear — from crying
  3. spring — the season
  4. bulb — for light
  5. content — happy
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. content — the amount
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. cap — of ice
  13. tear — to rip
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. spring — of water
  16. cap — a lid
  17. sharp — clever
  18. cold — not warm
  19. bulb — for light
  20. spring — a coil
  21. cold — an illness
  22. tear — from crying
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. lash — to lash out

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