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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. bat — the animal
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. root — of a word
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. root — the cause
  8. root — of a plant
  9. dip — to sink
  10. cell — a phone
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. cell — in biology
  13. clip — a video
  14. clip — to cut
  15. bore — to drill
  16. pitch — completely
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. bore — to tire
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. dip — to dunk

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