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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. lean — thin
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. clip — a video
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. ball — a dance
  8. stem — to come from
  9. lean — to bend
  10. ball — a great time
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. clip — to cut
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. clip — for paper
  16. club — for dancing
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bear — the animal
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. club — for golf
  23. club — a group
  24. trunk — of a tree

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