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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. content — the amount
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. file — a document
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. file — a line of people
  9. file — a tool
  10. fall — the season
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. rush — hurry
  13. fall — to drop
  14. field — farmland
  15. fall — to drop
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. chair — a leader
  18. content — happy
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. field — a subject
  23. field — for sport
  24. content — videos and posts

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