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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. deal — to handle
  3. sharp — clever
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. roll — a cake
  7. tear — from crying
  8. swing — to play on
  9. chest — of your body
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. court — of a king
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. chest — a box
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. court — for sport
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. swing — music
  19. swing — in golf
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — to rip
  23. roll — a list
  24. chest — of your body

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