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 116 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 was a fun ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. squash — the sport
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. bat — the animal
  5. prune — to trim
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. track — a path
  9. game — wild animals
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. track — a song
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. prune — to trim
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. squash — to crush
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. track — to keep track
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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