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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. spell — a short time
  4. row — to paddle
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. row — a line
  8. fall — to drop
  9. spring — the season
  10. chest — a box
  11. chest — of your body
  12. court — of a king
  13. spell — magic
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. fall — the season
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. spring — a coil
  19. chest — of your body
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. spring — of water
  22. court — of law
  23. court — for sport
  24. fall — to drop

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