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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. pop — soda
  3. pop — to visit
  4. band — a ring
  5. root — the cause
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. wind — moving air
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. root — of a plant
  13. file — a line of people
  14. squash — to crush
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. pop — music
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. file — a tool
  20. band — a music group
  21. wind — moving air
  22. root — of a word
  23. file — a document
  24. hide — animal skin

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