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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. cold — not warm
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. kid — to tease
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. pitch — completely
  8. root — the cause
  9. degree — from a university
  10. kid — child
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. charge — a price
  13. root — of a plant
  14. degree — temperature
  15. present — there
  16. cold — an illness
  17. game — wild animals
  18. game — a match
  19. present — a gift
  20. degree — an amount
  21. charge — in control
  22. present — the time now
  23. charge — electricity
  24. game — a kind of play

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