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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. tube — the underground
  4. fall — to drop
  5. spring — the season
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. pitch — completely
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. spring — a coil
  12. fall — to drop
  13. field — a subject
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. tube — a container
  16. field — farmland
  17. fall — the season
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. spring — of water
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. bark — to shout
  23. field — for sport
  24. bark — of a tree

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