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: cold · root · clip · arm · roll · plane · sharp · mark

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. roll — a list
  4. sharp — clever
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. cold — an illness
  7. root — of a word
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. plane — a tool
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. roll — a cake
  12. mark — a trace
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. clip — for paper
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. clip — a video
  17. root — of a plant
  18. mark — a grade
  19. root — the cause
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cold — not warm
  22. clip — to cut
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. plane — an aircraft

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