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: last · cap · shower · net · ground · tube · root · file

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. ground — the earth
  3. net — in sport
  4. last — finally
  5. root — of a word
  6. root — of a plant
  7. last — to go on
  8. last — final
  9. cap — a hat
  10. shower — rain
  11. tube — the underground
  12. cap — of ice
  13. net — for catching
  14. cap — a lid
  15. file — a line of people
  16. file — a document
  17. root — the cause
  18. tube — a container
  19. file — a tool
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. shower — to wash
  22. ground — a position
  23. ground — crushed
  24. tube — in a tire

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