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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. chest — of your body
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. court — for sport
  6. bear — the animal
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. chest — of your body
  9. mate — a partner
  10. court — of law
  11. cold — not warm
  12. bear — the animal
  13. mate — a friend
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. mate — to breed
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. cold — an illness
  18. chest — a box
  19. row — a line
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. row — to paddle
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. court — of a king

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