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 120 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: pit · straw · cold · bear · stand · club · trunk · mine

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. cold — not warm
  4. club — for dancing
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. pit — a hole
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. club — for golf
  10. club — a group
  11. bear — the animal
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. pit — in a race
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. cold — an illness
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. stand — to bear
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. mine — for digging

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