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: trunk · craft · bark · hide · root · mine · bat · present

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. present — there
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. present — a gift
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. craft — boats
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. present — the time now
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. craft — a skill
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. root — of a word
  16. bark — to shout
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. mine — for digging
  22. root — the cause
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. root — of a plant

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