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: wind · pit · wound · drill · trunk · ground · land · charge

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. land — a country
  3. charge — electricity
  4. land — ground
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. ground — crushed
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. charge — a price
  10. drill — the tool
  11. ground — a position
  12. charge — in control
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. wind — moving air
  16. pit — in a race
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wound — an injury
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. wound — an injury
  21. drill — a practice
  22. drill — army training
  23. ground — the earth
  24. land — to come down

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