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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. cold — not warm
  8. wind — moving air
  9. cold — an illness
  10. wind — moving air
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. object — to protest
  13. fork — in a road
  14. object — an aim
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. cap — a hat
  17. object — a thing
  18. cap — of ice
  19. cap — a lid
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. sharp — clever
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. cold — the Cold War

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