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 120 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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. last — to go on
  3. clip — to cut
  4. last — final
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. capital — money
  7. field — farmland
  8. root — of a plant
  9. capital — a city
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. field — for sport
  12. root — of a word
  13. branch — a division
  14. clip — a video
  15. field — a subject
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. root — the cause
  23. last — finally
  24. clip — for paper

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