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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. press — to push
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. last — to go on
  5. staff — employees
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. net — after costs
  8. staff — a stick
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. pitch — completely
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. press — a publisher
  13. last — final
  14. staff — employees
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. press — newspapers
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. net — for catching
  23. net — in sport
  24. last — finally

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