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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. band — a ring
  4. mark — a trace
  5. row — a line
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. capital — money
  8. mark — a grade
  9. row — to paddle
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. capital — a city
  14. band — a music group
  15. spell — a short time
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. spell — magic
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. spell — letters
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. fan — a supporter

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