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: wind · stem · cell · saw · club · bat · chair · root

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. club — for golf
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. root — the cause
  5. club — for dancing
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bat — the animal
  8. root — of a word
  9. chair — a leader
  10. cell — in biology
  11. wind — moving air
  12. club — a group
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. root — of a plant
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. wind — moving air
  18. saw — the tool
  19. stem — to come from
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. saw — the tool

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