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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. ground — crushed
  4. face — to confront
  5. face — part of the head
  6. spell — magic
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. land — to come down
  9. ground — a position
  10. spell — a short time
  11. charge — in control
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. ground — the earth
  14. face — to point toward
  15. land — ground
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — to rip
  18. charge — a price
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. spell — letters
  21. tear — from crying
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. branch — a division
  24. land — a country

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