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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. capital — a city
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. field — farmland
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. field — for sport
  8. capital — money
  9. wake — a trail
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. chest — of your body
  15. field — a subject
  16. chest — a box
  17. file — a document
  18. chest — of your body
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. file — a tool
  23. file — a line of people
  24. capital — a big letter

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