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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. land — ground
  3. land — a country
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. hand — help
  7. hand — in cards
  8. squash — to crush
  9. wound — an injury
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fall — to drop
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. chair — a leader
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. squash — the sport
  21. fall — the season
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. trunk — of a car

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