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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. cap — of ice
  3. spring — a coil
  4. cap — a hat
  5. root — of a word
  6. spring — the season
  7. shower — rain
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. dip — to sink
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. bank — for money
  14. field — a subject
  15. field — for sport
  16. spring — of water
  17. saw — the tool
  18. root — the cause
  19. saw — the tool
  20. field — farmland
  21. cap — a lid
  22. root — of a plant
  23. bank — for money
  24. bank — of a river

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