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 · game · cell · can · straw · roll · court · trunk

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. court — for sport
  3. root — the cause
  4. can — a tin
  5. root — of a word
  6. game — a match
  7. roll — a cake
  8. cell — a phone
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. court — of a king
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. court — of law
  13. root — of a plant
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. roll — a list
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. cell — in biology
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. game — wild animals
  23. can — a tin
  24. roll — on a roll

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