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: wound · bass · bat · chest · game · saw · trunk · fork

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bass — the fish
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. bat — the animal
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. saw — the tool
  13. saw — the tool
  14. game — a match
  15. wound — an injury
  16. fork — in a road
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. bass — low music
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. chest — a box
  22. game — wild animals
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. trunk — of a car

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