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 get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. wound — an injury
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. clip — a video
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. kick — in football
  9. clip — to cut
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. drill — a practice
  13. clip — for paper
  14. drill — the tool
  15. drill — army training
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. wax — to grow
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. wound — an injury
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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