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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. cell — a phone
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. prune — to trim
  6. root — of a plant
  7. bat — the animal
  8. game — a match
  9. root — the cause
  10. game — wild animals
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. cell — in biology
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. root — of a word
  17. face — to point toward
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. dip — to sink
  20. prune — to trim
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. face — part of the head
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. dip — a sauce

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