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: cold · mark · rush · mate · root · bowl · game · land

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. rush — hurry
  3. mark — a grade
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. land — to come down
  6. game — a match
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. cold — not warm
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. cold — an illness
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. mate — a partner
  14. root — of a word
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. mate — a friend
  17. mate — to breed
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. root — of a plant
  20. land — a country
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. mark — a trace
  23. land — ground
  24. root — the cause

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