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 · clip · chest · racket · trunk · sharp · saw · date

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. root — of a plant
  4. root — of a word
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. saw — the tool
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. clip — for paper
  13. saw — the tool
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — of your body
  18. clip — a video
  19. sharp — clever
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. clip — to cut
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. root — the cause
  24. chest — a box

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