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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  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. bat — the animal
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. board — a committee
  4. mug — to rob
  5. mug — a face
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. clip — to cut
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. mug — a cup
  10. ground — a position
  11. clip — for paper
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. march — the month
  14. board — to get on
  15. ground — crushed
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. ground — the earth
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. march — the month
  21. march — music
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. arm — a part of something
  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