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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. chest — of your body
  3. club — for dancing
  4. club — for golf
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. land — to come down
  7. chest — of your body
  8. club — a group
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. cold — not warm
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. bank — for money
  15. land — ground
  16. date — the fruit
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. bank — for money
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. chest — a box
  21. cold — an illness
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. bank — of a river
  24. date — on the calendar

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