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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: trunk · straw · spell · bound · row · roll · prune · court

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. bound — certain
  8. bound — obliged
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. court — of a king
  11. spell — magic
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. bound — tied together
  14. spell — a short time
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. court — of law
  18. row — to paddle
  19. spell — letters
  20. court — for sport
  21. roll — a list
  22. prune — to trim
  23. prune — to trim
  24. roll — a cake

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