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: land · fork · spring · root · shower · hand · pass · row

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. fork — in a road
  4. row — to paddle
  5. land — a country
  6. root — the cause
  7. land — to come down
  8. hand — in cards
  9. land — ground
  10. root — of a plant
  11. row — a line
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. hand — help
  14. pass — a permit
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. spring — the season
  17. shower — rain
  18. shower — to wash
  19. spring — a coil
  20. spring — of water
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. root — of a word

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