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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. kick — in football
  4. spring — a coil
  5. root — of a word
  6. pop — soda
  7. spring — the season
  8. chest — a box
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. chest — of your body
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. root — of a plant
  13. pop — to visit
  14. last — finally
  15. spring — of water
  16. last — final
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. root — the cause
  19. pop — music
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. mine — for digging
  23. fork — in a road
  24. last — to go on

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