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: root · wax · rush · mine · spell · cold · pitch · hand

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. pitch — completely
  3. spell — letters
  4. cold — an illness
  5. hand — in cards
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. root — of a plant
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. spell — a short time
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. wax — to grow
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. spell — magic
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. cold — not warm
  19. mine — for digging
  20. root — the cause
  21. root — of a word
  22. hand — help
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. rush — a thrill

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