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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: game · cold · plane · kid · root · pound

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. root — of a plant
  4. cold — not warm
  5. kid — child
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. game — a match
  9. root — the cause
  10. kid — to tease
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. cold — an illness
  13. plane — a tool
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. pound — a weight
  17. game — wild animals
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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