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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. capital — a city
  5. root — of a plant
  6. ground — the earth
  7. dip — to sink
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. hand — in cards
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. march — the month
  13. march — music
  14. root — of a word
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. capital — money
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. root — the cause
  19. hand — help
  20. ground — crushed
  21. prune — to trim
  22. ground — a position
  23. prune — to trim
  24. dip — a sauce

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