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

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. mark — a trace
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. chip — to eat
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. chip — for betting
  10. field — a subject
  11. court — for sport
  12. mark — a grade
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. court — of a king
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. bat — the animal
  19. prune — to trim
  20. field — farmland
  21. field — for sport
  22. prune — to trim
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. prune — the fruit

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