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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. root — of a word
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. march — the month
  9. scale — size or range
  10. fork — in a road
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. date — the fruit
  14. scale — in music
  15. march — music
  16. root — the cause
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. march — the month
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. wind — moving air
  24. root — of a plant

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