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: track · root · cold · land · face · game · pit · ball

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. cold — not warm
  3. game — a match
  4. face — part of the head
  5. track — to keep track
  6. game — wild animals
  7. ball — a great time
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. pit — a hole
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. root — of a word
  12. root — the cause
  13. face — to confront
  14. face — to point toward
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. track — a song
  18. land — a country
  19. cold — an illness
  20. track — a path
  21. land — ground
  22. root — of a plant
  23. pit — in a race
  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