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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. fall — the season
  3. game — a match
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. ground — the earth
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. ground — crushed
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. spell — a short time
  11. fall — to drop
  12. rest — what's left
  13. rest — a break
  14. spell — letters
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. ground — a position
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. rest — what's left
  19. game — wild animals
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. fall — to drop
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. fork — in a road
  24. patient — a sick person

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