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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. kick — in football
  3. root — of a word
  4. root — of a plant
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. rest — what's left
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. capital — a city
  10. spell — a short time
  11. capital — money
  12. track — a path
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. root — the cause
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. track — to keep track
  17. spell — magic
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. spell — letters
  20. bark — to shout
  21. rest — what's left
  22. bat — the animal
  23. rest — a break
  24. bat — in an idiom

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