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 120 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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. root — of a plant
  3. cold — an illness
  4. spell — a short time
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. cold — not warm
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. field — a subject
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. file — a document
  12. spell — magic
  13. dip — to sink
  14. root — the cause
  15. file — a line of people
  16. root — of a word
  17. field — farmland
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. current — of water
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. spell — letters
  22. current — electric
  23. file — a tool
  24. current — happening now

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