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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. drill — a practice
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. season — in sport
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. bear — the animal
  9. root — of a word
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cold — not warm
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. root — the cause
  14. root — of a plant
  15. mine — for digging
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. drill — the tool
  20. bear — the animal
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. season — of the year
  23. plane — a tool
  24. drill — army training

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