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: clip · bank · cold · chest · season · game · wave · root

  1. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. season — in sport
  3. clip — a video
  4. cold — an illness
  5. bank — of a river
  6. season — of the year
  7. game — wild animals
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. root — of a word
  10. clip — for paper
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. bank — for money
  13. chest — of your body
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. chest — a box
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. chest — of your body
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. bank — for money
  21. clip — to cut
  22. game — a match
  23. cold — not warm
  24. root — of a plant

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