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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  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. chest — of your body
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. saw — the tool
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. ground — crushed
  6. root — of a word
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. stem — to come from
  10. shower — rain
  11. ground — the earth
  12. rule — government
  13. chest — of your body
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. saw — the tool
  16. chest — a box
  17. shower — to wash
  18. kick — in football
  19. root — of a plant
  20. rule — a law
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. ground — a position
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  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