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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. clip — a video
  3. tear — from crying
  4. last — final
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. press — a publisher
  7. clip — to cut
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. press — newspapers
  10. toast — bread
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. clip — for paper
  13. kid — to tease
  14. kid — child
  15. fork — in a road
  16. press — to push
  17. last — finally
  18. root — the cause
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. tear — from crying
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. last — to go on
  23. root — of a plant
  24. tear — to rip

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