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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. prune — to trim
  3. race — humankind
  4. hand — in cards
  5. race — a contest
  6. track — a path
  7. press — a publisher
  8. track — a song
  9. hand — help
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cold — not warm
  12. mark — a trace
  13. root — of a plant
  14. root — of a word
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. mark — a grade
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. press — to push
  20. race — the arms race
  21. prune — to trim
  22. press — newspapers
  23. track — to keep track
  24. root — the cause

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