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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. tube — the underground
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. drill — a practice
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. game — wild animals
  8. game — a match
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. tube — a container
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. drill — the tool
  17. root — of a word
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. root — the cause
  20. root — of a plant
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. drill — army training
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. bat — in an idiom

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