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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. current — of water
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. capital — a city
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. capital — money
  8. current — happening now
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. race — humankind
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. branch — a division
  16. current — electric
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cell — in biology
  20. race — the arms race
  21. race — a contest
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cell — a phone
  24. cold — not warm

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