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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. court — of law
  3. ground — the earth
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. ground — crushed
  7. date — the fruit
  8. fall — the season
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. ground — a position
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. fall — to drop
  13. clip — a video
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. court — of a king
  16. present — the time now
  17. clip — to cut
  18. present — there
  19. fall — to drop
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. court — for sport
  22. clip — for paper
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. present — a gift

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