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: toast · wound · drill · lean · file · stem · trunk · last

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. file — a line of people
  4. last — finally
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. lean — to bend
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. last — to go on
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. lean — thin
  12. drill — the tool
  13. toast — bread
  14. drill — a practice
  15. file — a document
  16. wound — an injury
  17. stem — to come from
  18. wound — an injury
  19. drill — army training
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. last — final
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. file — a tool

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