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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. rock — music
  3. root — of a plant
  4. rock — a stone
  5. cold — an illness
  6. spell — a short time
  7. kid — to tease
  8. root — the cause
  9. present — there
  10. root — of a word
  11. spell — letters
  12. present — a gift
  13. band — a ring
  14. cold — not warm
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. deal — to handle
  19. kid — child
  20. band — a music group
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. present — the time now
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. spell — magic

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