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: bark · court · file · bass · wax · trunk · rule · roll

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. court — of law
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. roll — a cake
  5. court — of a king
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. file — a line of people
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. bass — the fish
  11. bass — low music
  12. court — for sport
  13. file — a tool
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. file — a document
  16. rule — government
  17. bark — to shout
  18. roll — a list
  19. rule — a law
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. wax — to grow
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. trunk — of a tree

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