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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. cell — a phone
  3. prune — to trim
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. track — a song
  6. scale — size or range
  7. file — a document
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. board — a committee
  10. board — to get on
  11. root — of a word
  12. capital — money
  13. track — a path
  14. scale — in music
  15. cell — in biology
  16. root — of a plant
  17. root — the cause
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. capital — a city
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. prune — to trim
  23. file — a line of people
  24. file — a 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