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: wind · field · perch · roll · mine · cold · trunk · key

  1. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. mine — for digging
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. field — for sport
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. field — farmland
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. key — in music
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. cold — an illness
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. wind — moving air
  15. key — for a lock
  16. roll — a cake
  17. perch — the fish
  18. field — a subject
  19. key — the most important part
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. wind — moving air
  24. cold — not warm

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