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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. cold — not warm
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. key — for a lock
  6. key — the most important part
  7. wound — an injury
  8. key — in music
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. hand — help
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. bore — to tire
  15. bore — to drill
  16. cold — an illness
  17. sharp — clever
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. hand — in cards
  20. spell — letters
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. spell — magic
  24. spell — a short time

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