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: fork · racket · chest · bat · tear · court · root · dip

  1. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. court — for sport
  5. chest — of your body
  6. court — of law
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. bat — the animal
  9. chest — of your body
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. tear — from crying
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. chest — a box
  14. dip — to sink
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. tear — from crying
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. fork — in a road
  21. root — of a plant
  22. root — of a word
  23. tear — to rip
  24. court — of a king

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