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: root · court · hide · staff · shower · pit · cold · rest

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. rest — a break
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. court — of a king
  5. cold — not warm
  6. staff — employees
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. staff — a stick
  10. shower — rain
  11. cold — an illness
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. root — of a word
  14. root — of a plant
  15. pit — in a race
  16. rest — what's left
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. rest — what's left
  19. court — of law
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. shower — to wash
  22. court — for sport
  23. staff — employees
  24. root — the cause

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