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 116 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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. field — farmland
  3. dip — to sink
  4. rule — government
  5. can — a tin
  6. field — a subject
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. clip — for paper
  9. clip — to cut
  10. tube — the underground
  11. can — to be able to
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. tube — a container
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bat — the animal
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. clip — a video
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. field — for sport
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. rule — a law
  24. can — a tin

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