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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. saw — the tool
  3. cap — a hat
  4. saw — the tool
  5. root — of a word
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. ball — a great time
  8. root — the cause
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. cold — an illness
  11. degree — temperature
  12. degree — from a university
  13. row — a line
  14. degree — an amount
  15. root — of a plant
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. cap — a lid
  18. row — to paddle
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. rush — hurry
  23. cold — not warm
  24. ball — a dance

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