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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. mine — for digging
  7. fall — the season
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. cold — not warm
  12. root — of a word
  13. cold — an illness
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. fall — to drop
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. pass — a permit
  19. root — of a plant
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. root — the cause
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. mine — an explosive

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