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: arm · tube · field · mine · lie · content · trunk · land

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. tube — a container
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. field — for sport
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. field — a subject
  7. content — the amount
  8. tube — the underground
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. field — farmland
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. land — ground
  15. lie — to recline
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. mine — for digging
  18. content — happy
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. land — to come down
  23. land — a country
  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