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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. root — of a word
  4. ground — the earth
  5. ground — a position
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. hand — in cards
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. lean — to bend
  13. lean — thin
  14. hand — help
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. rule — a law
  17. pound — a weight
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. root — of a plant
  20. root — the cause
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. bat — the animal
  23. ground — crushed
  24. bat — for baseball

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