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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. clip — for paper
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. field — a subject
  6. mate — a friend
  7. race — humankind
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. field — for sport
  10. clip — to cut
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. mate — a partner
  13. field — farmland
  14. bark — to shout
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. race — a contest
  18. race — the arms race
  19. root — of a word
  20. mate — to breed
  21. root — the cause
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. root — of a plant
  24. clip — a video

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