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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. clip — to cut
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. chest — a box
  8. bank — for money
  9. content — the amount
  10. content — happy
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. bank — of a river
  13. hand — help
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. hand — in cards
  16. fork — in a road
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. clip — for paper
  20. plane — a tool
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. bank — for money
  23. chest — of your body
  24. clip — a video

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