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: rash · root · court · stem · capital · land · row · chest

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. court — for sport
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. chest — of your body
  6. row — to paddle
  7. rash — hasty
  8. capital — money
  9. root — the cause
  10. stem — to come from
  11. rash — a series
  12. court — of law
  13. chest — a box
  14. land — a country
  15. court — of a king
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. row — a line
  18. chest — of your body
  19. root — of a plant
  20. root — of a word
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. capital — a city
  24. land — to come down

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