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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. club — a group
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. club — for golf
  8. root — of a plant
  9. fork — in a road
  10. bat — the animal
  11. root — of a word
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. date — the fruit
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. land — to come down
  16. land — a country
  17. root — the cause
  18. land — ground
  19. last — finally
  20. last — to go on
  21. club — for dancing
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. dip — to sink

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