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 116 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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. season — in sport
  3. tube — a container
  4. cold — an illness
  5. root — the cause
  6. fork — in a road
  7. tube — the underground
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. root — of a plant
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. firm — steady
  15. firm — decided
  16. pit — in a race
  17. pit — a hole
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. root — of a word
  21. season — of the year
  22. cold — not warm
  23. firm — a company
  24. cold — the Cold War

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