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 120 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: file · root · present · kid · can · face · cold · row

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. row — a line
  4. can — a tin
  5. kid — child
  6. kid — to tease
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. file — a line of people
  9. present — the time now
  10. root — the cause
  11. root — of a plant
  12. face — to confront
  13. can — to be able to
  14. file — a tool
  15. file — a document
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. cold — an illness
  18. face — to point toward
  19. row — to paddle
  20. present — a gift
  21. cold — not warm
  22. root — of a word
  23. can — a tin
  24. face — part of the head

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