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 120 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: branch · bark · tube · trunk · cold · calf · root · pound

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. branch — a division
  7. bark — to shout
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. tube — the underground
  10. tube — a container
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. pound — a weight
  14. root — the cause
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. cold — an illness
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. cold — not warm
  22. root — of a plant
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. root — of a word

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