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: rock · cold · season · fall · mine · content · spell · trunk

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. season — of the year
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. fall — to drop
  7. cold — not warm
  8. rock — a stone
  9. mine — for digging
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. spell — letters
  12. spell — magic
  13. rock — music
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. fall — to drop
  16. content — the amount
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. season — in sport
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. cold — an illness
  23. spell — a short time
  24. content — happy

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