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: clip · roll · racket · trunk · pop · bass · craft · shower

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. craft — boats
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. roll — a list
  5. bass — the fish
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. craft — a skill
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. shower — to wash
  10. pop — to visit
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. clip — for paper
  13. roll — a cake
  14. clip — to cut
  15. shower — rain
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. pop — music
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. clip — a video
  22. bass — low music
  23. pop — soda
  24. racket — a loud noise

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