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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. present — there
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. scale — size or range
  7. squash — the sport
  8. squash — to crush
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. present — the time now
  11. march — the month
  12. shower — rain
  13. stem — to come from
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. shower — to wash
  18. march — the month
  19. present — a gift
  20. scale — in music
  21. march — music
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bat — the animal
  24. stem — of a plant

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