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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. capital — money
  3. cap — of ice
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. field — farmland
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. cap — a lid
  11. bark — to shout
  12. pit — in a race
  13. field — for sport
  14. field — a subject
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. capital — a city
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — from crying
  22. cap — a hat
  23. pit — a hole
  24. tear — to rip

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