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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. root — of a word
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. bear — the animal
  5. root — the cause
  6. bear — the animal
  7. shower — rain
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. root — of a plant
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. game — a match
  12. chest — a box
  13. tube — the underground
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. mine — for digging
  16. game — wild animals
  17. chest — of your body
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. chest — of your body
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. shower — to wash

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