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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. saw — the tool
  3. game — wild animals
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. capital — a city
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. degree — an amount
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. degree — from a university
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. game — a match
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. net — after costs
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. saw — the tool
  19. degree — temperature
  20. net — in sport
  21. capital — money
  22. net — for catching
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. mine — for digging

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