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 116 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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. squash — the sport
  4. squash — to crush
  5. charge — electricity
  6. tube — a container
  7. band — a ring
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. tube — the underground
  10. bark — to shout
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. charge — in control
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. snap — to click
  22. band — a music group
  23. charge — a price
  24. bark — of a tree

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