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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  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. bulb — for light
  2. pit — a hole
  3. cold — an illness
  4. club — for dancing
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. cap — a lid
  7. tear — to rip
  8. field — for sport
  9. tear — from crying
  10. field — a subject
  11. bulb — for light
  12. root — the cause
  13. cold — not warm
  14. club — a group
  15. field — farmland
  16. cap — a hat
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. tear — from crying
  19. root — of a word
  20. pit — in a race
  21. cap — of ice
  22. club — for golf
  23. cold — the Cold War
  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