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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. board — a committee
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. shower — rain
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. spell — magic
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. board — to get on
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. shower — to wash
  13. spring — a coil
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. spring — of water
  18. spell — a short time
  19. cell — in biology
  20. hand — help
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. spring — the season
  23. hand — in cards
  24. trunk — of a car

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