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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. rock — a stone
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. land — ground
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. rash — hasty
  11. bat — the animal
  12. rock — music
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. rash — a series
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. snap — to click
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. land — to come down
  24. land — a country

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