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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. cell — in biology
  5. lean — thin
  6. root — the cause
  7. kick — in football
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. shower — rain
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. ground — crushed
  12. shower — to wash
  13. ground — the earth
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. ground — a position
  18. bat — the animal
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cell — a phone
  22. root — of a plant
  23. lean — to bend
  24. cell — in a prison

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