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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. spring — the season
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. race — the arms race
  10. wind — moving air
  11. race — a contest
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. sharp — clever
  15. root — the cause
  16. spring — of water
  17. mine — for digging
  18. race — humankind
  19. wind — moving air
  20. root — of a plant
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. spring — a coil
  23. wake — a trail
  24. mine — an explosive

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