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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. land — ground
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. sharp — clever
  6. land — a country
  7. field — farmland
  8. field — a subject
  9. rock — a stone
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. prune — to trim
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. prune — to trim
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. land — to come down
  21. rock — music
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. cold — an illness
  24. rock — to move gently

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