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: bat · chest · dip · wave · trunk · mate · march · season

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. bat — the animal
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. season — in sport
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. march — the month
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. march — music
  14. march — the month
  15. mate — to breed
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. mate — a friend
  18. mate — a partner
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. dip — to sink
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. chest — of your body
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. chest — a box

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