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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  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. kick — in football
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. root — of a plant
  5. rash — hasty
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. fork — in a road
  8. field — for sport
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. press — a publisher
  12. press — to push
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. field — a subject
  16. root — of a word
  17. field — farmland
  18. rash — a series
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. bat — the animal
  23. press — newspapers
  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