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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. wind — moving air
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. court — for sport
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. root — the cause
  8. ground — crushed
  9. last — finally
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. root — of a plant
  12. wind — moving air
  13. court — of law
  14. root — of a word
  15. last — to go on
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. clip — for paper
  18. ground — the earth
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. clip — a video
  21. last — final
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. court — of a king
  24. ground — a position

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