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 elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. court — for sport
  5. shower — rain
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bat — the animal
  9. field — a subject
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. track — a song
  12. track — to keep track
  13. court — of a king
  14. degree — temperature
  15. track — a path
  16. field — farmland
  17. degree — from a university
  18. court — of law
  19. degree — an amount
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. shower — to wash
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. field — for sport
  24. patient — a sick person

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