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: chip · bank · cold · spring · wax · pop · leaves · root

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. spring — a coil
  4. spring — of water
  5. spring — the season
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. bank — of a river
  10. pop — to visit
  11. cold — an illness
  12. root — of a plant
  13. chip — to eat
  14. chip — for betting
  15. pop — soda
  16. bank — for money
  17. wax — to grow
  18. cold — not warm
  19. root — the cause
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. root — of a word
  24. bank — for money

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