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: game · capital · bowl · root · rash · hide · clip · field

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. field — a subject
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. clip — for paper
  6. game — wild animals
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. rash — a series
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. root — of a word
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. field — for sport
  14. capital — money
  15. capital — a city
  16. game — a match
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. field — farmland
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. rash — hasty
  21. clip — a video
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. root — the cause
  24. root — of a plant

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