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: wave · fall · bark · march · chair · land · lean · root

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. lean — to bend
  3. march — music
  4. lean — thin
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. march — the month
  7. march — the month
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. fall — the season
  11. chair — a leader
  12. fall — to drop
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. root — of a plant
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. land — a country
  17. bark — to shout
  18. land — to come down
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. root — the cause
  21. fall — to drop
  22. root — of a word
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. chair — a professorship

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