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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. mine — for digging
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. file — a line of people
  6. cold — not warm
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. file — a tool
  9. root — of a plant
  10. stem — to come from
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. dip — to sink
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. band — a ring
  15. craft — boats
  16. craft — a skill
  17. root — the cause
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. file — a document
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. root — of a word
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. cold — an illness
  24. stem — 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