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 116 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 was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — an illness
  4. bank — for money
  5. scale — in music
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. mine — for digging
  8. bank — for money
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. scale — size or range
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. craft — a skill
  13. drill — the tool
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. drill — army training
  16. hand — in cards
  17. bank — of a river
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. hand — help
  21. craft — boats
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. drill — a practice
  24. trunk — of a car

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