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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. bear — the animal
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. game — a match
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. club — for dancing
  9. snap — to click
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. branch — a division
  16. content — happy
  17. club — for golf
  18. bat — the animal
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. bear — the animal
  21. content — the amount
  22. club — a group
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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