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

Word bank: cap · game · current · root · march · spring · content · wind

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. content — the amount
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. current — happening now
  5. spring — a coil
  6. root — of a word
  7. cap — a lid
  8. current — of water
  9. cap — a hat
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. game — a match
  12. current — electric
  13. root — the cause
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. march — music
  16. spring — of water
  17. root — of a plant
  18. spring — the season
  19. game — wild animals
  20. content — happy
  21. march — the month
  22. march — the month
  23. wind — moving air
  24. cap — of ice

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