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 elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. scale — size or range
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. face — part of the head
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. chest — of your body
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. face — to point toward
  10. bat — the animal
  11. chest — of your body
  12. wound — an injury
  13. rush — hurry
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. mark — a trace
  17. chest — a box
  18. face — to confront
  19. wound — an injury
  20. scale — in music
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. mark — a grade

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