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: band · pitcher · court · stand · content · root · wave · last

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. last — final
  5. stand — to bear
  6. band — a music group
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. court — of a king
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. content — happy
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. root — of a plant
  13. court — of law
  14. last — finally
  15. content — the amount
  16. band — a ring
  17. court — for sport
  18. last — to go on
  19. root — the cause
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. content — videos and posts

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