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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. bass — low music
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — moving air
  5. mate — a partner
  6. field — a subject
  7. tube — the underground
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. last — finally
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. last — final
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. tube — a container
  16. field — for sport
  17. mate — to breed
  18. wake — a trail
  19. field — farmland
  20. bass — the fish
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. last — to go on
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. wake — before a funeral

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