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

Word bank: trunk · lash · hand · cold · capital · nail · firm · spring

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. cold — an illness
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. firm — decided
  7. spring — a coil
  8. firm — a company
  9. firm — steady
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. capital — a city
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. capital — money
  14. hand — in cards
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. hand — help
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. spring — the season
  23. spring — of water
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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