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 · swing · wound · clip · game · roll · cell · bass

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. clip — for paper
  3. cell — in biology
  4. swing — in golf
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. bass — the fish
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. swing — to play on
  10. swing — music
  11. game — a match
  12. wound — an injury
  13. clip — to cut
  14. wound — an injury
  15. roll — a list
  16. game — wild animals
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. bass — low music
  19. clip — a video
  20. cell — a phone
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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