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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. rash — hasty
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. spring — of water
  5. root — of a word
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. season — of the year
  8. season — in sport
  9. rash — a series
  10. kid — child
  11. clip — for paper
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. kid — to tease
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. clip — a video
  16. dip — to sink
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. clip — to cut
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. root — of a plant
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. spring — the season
  23. spring — a coil
  24. root — the cause

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