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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. march — the month
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. march — music
  10. pop — music
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. club — for golf
  13. file — a tool
  14. pop — to visit
  15. file — a document
  16. file — a line of people
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. cell — in biology
  20. pop — soda
  21. cell — a phone
  22. march — the month
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. club — a group

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