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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. key — for a lock
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. kid — to tease
  6. spring — a coil
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. spring — of water
  9. spring — the season
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. shower — rain
  12. shower — to wash
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. kick — in football
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. key — the most important part
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. bear — the animal
  20. kid — child
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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