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: kid · date · fall · cell · season · degree · tear · root

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. degree — an amount
  3. root — the cause
  4. fall — to drop
  5. kid — child
  6. fall — the season
  7. season — in sport
  8. fall — to drop
  9. degree — from a university
  10. season — of the year
  11. root — of a plant
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. tear — from crying
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. date — the fruit
  16. degree — temperature
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cell — a phone
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. root — of a word
  21. tear — from crying
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. tear — to rip
  24. kid — to tease

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