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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. scale — in music
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. rule — a law
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. net — in sport
  10. net — for catching
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. hand — in cards
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. scale — size or range
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. net — after costs
  20. rule — government
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. hand — help
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. cabinet — ministers

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