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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. bear — the animal
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. cold — not warm
  6. wake — a trail
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. rush — hurry
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. mine — for digging
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. ball — a dance
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. ball — a great time
  18. press — to push
  19. press — a publisher
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. cold — an illness
  22. bear — the animal
  23. press — newspapers
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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