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 120 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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. race — humankind
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. court — for sport
  5. tear — to rip
  6. fine — high quality
  7. tear — from crying
  8. court — of a king
  9. race — a contest
  10. ball — a great time
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. root — the cause
  13. bat — the animal
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. court — of law
  16. root — of a plant
  17. tear — from crying
  18. land — ground
  19. land — a country
  20. ball — a dance
  21. race — the arms race
  22. fine — all right
  23. land — to come down
  24. bat — in an idiom

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