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 · bear · racket · bat · bowl · tear · mine · pound

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. tear — from crying
  4. root — of a word
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. mine — for digging
  8. tear — to rip
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. bear — the animal
  14. root — the cause
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bear — the animal
  20. pound — a weight
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. root — of a plant
  24. bear — to put up with

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