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've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. race — a contest
  3. bat — the animal
  4. spell — letters
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. bank — for money
  8. race — humankind
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. bank — of a river
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. spell — a short time
  20. bank — for money
  21. spell — magic
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cold — not warm
  24. race — the arms race

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