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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. cell — a phone
  3. chest — of your body
  4. rash — hasty
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. deal — to handle
  8. chest — of your body
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. rash — a series
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. wind — moving air
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. chest — a box
  15. cell — in biology
  16. chair — a leader
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. tube — a container
  20. tube — the underground
  21. wind — moving air
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. cell — in a prison

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