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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  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. last — final
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. staff — employees
  4. clip — a video
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. staff — employees
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. staff — a stick
  10. spell — magic
  11. spell — letters
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. last — to go on
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. dip — to sink
  17. spell — a short time
  18. prune — to trim
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. clip — to cut
  21. stand — to bear
  22. clip — for paper
  23. prune — to trim
  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