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 light ________________ burned out.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. branch — a division
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. sharp — clever
  5. cold — an illness
  6. tear — from crying
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bulb — for light
  9. wind — moving air
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. craft — boats
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. tear — from crying
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. tear — to rip
  22. craft — a skill
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. cold — not warm

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