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: toast · root · pit · cold · rash · band · game · kid

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. rash — a series
  3. toast — bread
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. kid — to tease
  9. root — of a plant
  10. game — wild animals
  11. root — of a word
  12. band — a music group
  13. rash — hasty
  14. band — a ring
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. cold — an illness
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. root — the cause
  19. kid — child
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. pit — a hole
  22. cold — not warm
  23. pit — in a race
  24. game — a match

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