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 120 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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. track — a song
  3. drill — the tool
  4. root — the cause
  5. root — of a plant
  6. scale — size or range
  7. kid — child
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. drill — army training
  10. cold — not warm
  11. rash — hasty
  12. kid — to tease
  13. cold — an illness
  14. chest — of your body
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. track — to keep track
  17. drill — a practice
  18. scale — in music
  19. root — of a word
  20. chest — of your body
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. rash — a series
  23. chest — a box
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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