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 · coach · cell · clip · scale · file · kid · can

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. can — to be able to
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. clip — for paper
  7. scale — size or range
  8. file — a tool
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. kid — to tease
  11. cell — a phone
  12. kid — child
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. file — a line of people
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. clip — a video
  18. file — a document
  19. can — a tin
  20. clip — to cut
  21. can — a tin
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. scale — in music
  24. cell — in biology

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