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: last · present · trunk · mine · press · wake · game · cold

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. last — finally
  4. last — to go on
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. present — there
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. present — a gift
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. mine — for digging
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. last — final
  13. press — newspapers
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. game — wild animals
  16. wake — a trail
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. press — a publisher
  19. game — a match
  20. cold — not warm
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. cold — an illness
  23. press — to push
  24. present — the time now

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