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: dip · root · season · wave · hand · tube · cold · coach

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. cold — not warm
  3. tube — a container
  4. dip — to sink
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. root — of a word
  8. tube — the underground
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. hand — help
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. cold — an illness
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. root — the cause
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. hand — in cards
  17. season — in sport
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. season — of the year
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. root — of a plant
  24. coach — a trainer

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