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 120 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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. spell — letters
  3. face — to confront
  4. mate — to breed
  5. spell — a short time
  6. band — a music group
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. game — wild animals
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. mate — a partner
  11. face — part of the head
  12. tear — from crying
  13. spell — magic
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. mate — a friend
  16. tear — from crying
  17. game — a match
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. tear — to rip
  20. row — a line
  21. face — to point toward
  22. band — a ring
  23. row — to paddle
  24. band — a rubber band

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