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: cabinet · clip · cold · chest · spell · bulb · plane · trunk

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. chest — of your body
  10. clip — for paper
  11. plane — a tool
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cold — not warm
  14. spell — a short time
  15. spell — magic
  16. chest — a box
  17. bulb — for light
  18. bulb — for light
  19. clip — to cut
  20. cold — an illness
  21. spell — letters
  22. chest — of your body
  23. clip — a video
  24. plane — in geometry

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