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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. stem — to come from
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. clip — to cut
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. root — the cause
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. clip — for paper
  9. club — a group
  10. cell — a phone
  11. root — of a plant
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. kick — in football
  16. net — after costs
  17. net — in sport
  18. net — for catching
  19. clip — a video
  20. cell — in biology
  21. capital — a city
  22. club — for dancing
  23. club — for golf
  24. capital — money

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