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: cap · present · game · drill · plane · land · stem · mine

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. plane — a tool
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. cap — a lid
  8. land — to come down
  9. cap — a hat
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. stem — to come from
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. present — there
  14. game — wild animals
  15. present — the time now
  16. present — a gift
  17. land — a country
  18. game — a match
  19. land — ground
  20. mine — for digging
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. drill — a practice
  23. drill — army training
  24. drill — the tool

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