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 116 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: bound · ground · wind · shower · spell · root · kick · bear

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  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. wind — moving air
  2. spell — a short time
  3. shower — rain
  4. ground — crushed
  5. ground — the earth
  6. bear — the animal
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. ground — a position
  9. wind — moving air
  10. root — of a word
  11. bound — certain
  12. kick — in football
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bound — tied together
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. bound — obliged
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. spell — letters
  20. spell — magic
  21. root — the cause
  22. shower — to wash
  23. wind — to turn a key
  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