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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. capital — a city
  3. root — the cause
  4. kid — to tease
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. root — of a plant
  7. rock — a stone
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. roll — a cake
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. root — of a word
  12. roll — a list
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. rock — music
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. kid — child
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. wind — moving air
  21. capital — money
  22. wind — moving air
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. patient — a sick person

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