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: perch · root · land · field · straw · ground · stem · hand

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. land — to come down
  4. stem — to come from
  5. ground — the earth
  6. field — a subject
  7. perch — the fish
  8. ground — crushed
  9. root — of a plant
  10. field — farmland
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. land — ground
  13. hand — help
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. land — a country
  17. root — the cause
  18. ground — a position
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. hand — in cards
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. field — for sport
  24. root — of a word

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