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 116 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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. wound — an injury
  3. root — of a word
  4. board — to get on
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. spring — a coil
  8. cold — an illness
  9. root — the cause
  10. club — for golf
  11. spring — the season
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. club — for dancing
  14. ground — the earth
  15. board — a committee
  16. spring — of water
  17. wound — an injury
  18. ground — crushed
  19. pop — to visit
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. root — of a plant
  22. pop — music
  23. pop — soda
  24. club — a group

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