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: nail · bear · cold · sharp · pitcher · rule · root · board

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. board — a committee
  3. bear — the animal
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. bear — the animal
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — an illness
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. rule — government
  13. root — of a plant
  14. root — of a word
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. board — to get on
  17. root — the cause
  18. sharp — clever
  19. cold — not warm
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. rule — a law
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. nail — for a hammer

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