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: ground · ball · rock · fork · pit · row · cold · trunk

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. rock — a stone
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. ground — crushed
  5. row — a line
  6. cold — not warm
  7. rock — music
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — an illness
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. row — to paddle
  14. pit — a hole
  15. pit — in a race
  16. ground — the earth
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. ball — a dance
  19. ground — a position
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. ball — a great time
  22. fork — in a road
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. fork — to eat with

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