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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. last — finally
  3. last — to go on
  4. pop — music
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — from crying
  8. bass — low music
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. cell — in biology
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. dip — to sink
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. land — ground
  15. pop — to visit
  16. cell — a phone
  17. pop — soda
  18. last — final
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. bass — the fish
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. tear — to rip
  23. land — to come down
  24. dip — a sauce

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