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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. snap — to click
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. mate — to breed
  6. bark — to shout
  7. mate — a friend
  8. chest — of your body
  9. bore — to tire
  10. object — a thing
  11. chest — of your body
  12. object — an aim
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. object — to protest
  16. band — a music group
  17. band — a ring
  18. bore — to drill
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. chest — a box
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  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