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: root · ground · game · spring · chest · mate · season · club

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. ground — crushed
  3. season — in sport
  4. root — of a plant
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. mate — a partner
  7. spring — of water
  8. club — for dancing
  9. chest — a box
  10. game — wild animals
  11. spring — a coil
  12. root — of a word
  13. ground — the earth
  14. mate — to breed
  15. game — a match
  16. chest — of your body
  17. club — a group
  18. mate — a friend
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. club — for golf
  21. ground — a position
  22. spring — the season
  23. root — the cause
  24. chest — of your body

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