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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. rule — government
  3. rule — a law
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. scale — size or range
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. stock — shares
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. wax — to grow
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. cell — a phone
  14. bore — to drill
  15. scale — in music
  16. bore — to tire
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. spring — the season
  19. stock — goods
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. cell — in biology
  24. spring — a coil

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