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 124 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've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. shower — to wash
  3. net — for catching
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. lean — thin
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. net — in sport
  8. content — the amount
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. root — the cause
  12. lean — to bend
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. mine — for digging
  15. shower — rain
  16. root — of a word
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. net — after costs
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. root — of a plant
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. content — happy
  24. lean — to rest against

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