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 120 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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. bulb — for light
  3. object — to protest
  4. hand — help
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. bulb — for light
  7. game — a match
  8. object — an aim
  9. hand — in cards
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. last — finally
  12. branch — a division
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. last — to go on
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. object — a thing
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. game — wild animals
  24. branch — 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