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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. root — of a word
  3. root — the cause
  4. rush — hurry
  5. spell — letters
  6. field — farmland
  7. spell — a short time
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. field — for sport
  10. court — of a king
  11. court — of law
  12. row — to paddle
  13. court — for sport
  14. field — a subject
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. spell — magic
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. root — of a plant
  21. row — a line
  22. hand — in cards
  23. hand — help
  24. dip — to sink

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