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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  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. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. wound — an injury
  3. club — a group
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. club — for dancing
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. last — to go on
  8. last — final
  9. clip — to cut
  10. root — of a plant
  11. ground — crushed
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. wound — an injury
  14. clip — for paper
  15. wake — a trail
  16. root — of a word
  17. clip — a video
  18. last — finally
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. ground — the earth
  22. ground — a position
  23. club — for golf
  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