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: land · court · clip · trunk · straw · roll · coach · toast

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. toast — bread
  4. clip — for paper
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. roll — a list
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. land — ground
  9. land — to come down
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. roll — a cake
  15. court — for sport
  16. court — of a king
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. court — of law
  20. clip — to cut
  21. clip — a video
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. land — a country
  24. trunk — of a car

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