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

  1. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. swing — in golf
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. swing — music
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. object — to protest
  8. spell — a short time
  9. content — happy
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. content — the amount
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. spell — letters
  15. net — in sport
  16. net — for catching
  17. spell — magic
  18. shower — rain
  19. swing — to play on
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. net — after costs
  23. object — an aim
  24. shower — to wash

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