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 116 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 like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. spell — letters
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. charge — a price
  6. spell — magic
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. ball — a great time
  11. charge — electricity
  12. snap — to click
  13. bat — the animal
  14. ball — a dance
  15. dip — to sink
  16. charge — in control
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. cell — in biology
  23. cell — a phone
  24. spell — a short time

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