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: cold · key · trunk · chair · bear · wake · present · ground

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. present — the time now
  3. bear — the animal
  4. ground — a position
  5. ground — the earth
  6. chair — a leader
  7. wake — a trail
  8. cold — not warm
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. present — a gift
  12. cold — an illness
  13. key — in music
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. bear — the animal
  20. key — for a lock
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. key — the most important part
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. present — there

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