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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. clip — to cut
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. kid — child
  5. net — in sport
  6. clip — a video
  7. root — the cause
  8. staff — a stick
  9. stem — to come from
  10. staff — employees
  11. staff — employees
  12. clip — for paper
  13. net — after costs
  14. kid — to tease
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. root — of a plant
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. net — for catching
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. root — of a word
  21. wake — a trail
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. ground — a position
  24. ground — the earth

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