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: dip · ground · mine · root · clip · club · chest · tube

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. club — a group
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. club — for dancing
  5. club — for golf
  6. chest — a box
  7. clip — a video
  8. root — of a word
  9. clip — to cut
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. ground — crushed
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. dip — to sink
  15. ground — the earth
  16. mine — for digging
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. chest — of your body
  19. root — the cause
  20. clip — for paper
  21. chest — of your body
  22. tube — the underground
  23. root — of a plant
  24. tube — a container

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