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 · rule · bulb · straw · court · cold · swing · mine

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. court — for sport
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. swing — music
  6. court — of a king
  7. court — of law
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. cold — not warm
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. mine — for digging
  13. swing — in golf
  14. bulb — for light
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. bulb — for light
  18. rule — government
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. swing — to play on
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. rule — a law

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