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 · plane · craft · cold · content · pound · net · chair

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. content — happy
  3. pound — a weight
  4. net — in sport
  5. root — the cause
  6. root — of a plant
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. net — after costs
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. craft — boats
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. cold — an illness
  15. craft — a skill
  16. plane — a tool
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. content — the amount
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. root — of a word
  22. cold — not warm
  23. net — for catching
  24. pound — for dogs

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