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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. field — a subject
  3. wound — an injury
  4. file — a document
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. field — for sport
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. field — farmland
  9. firm — decided
  10. firm — steady
  11. wound — an injury
  12. file — a tool
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. bat — the animal
  17. perch — the fish
  18. firm — a company
  19. root — the cause
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. file — a line of people
  22. root — of a plant
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. cabinet — ministers

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