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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. wind — moving air
  3. root — of a plant
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. court — for sport
  8. face — to point toward
  9. court — of a king
  10. face — part of the head
  11. root — the cause
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. hand — help
  14. game — a match
  15. face — to confront
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. hand — in cards
  18. court — of law
  19. game — wild animals
  20. tube — the underground
  21. root — of a word
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. tube — a container
  24. wind — moving air

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