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: bear · ground · mate · cell · nail · trunk · land · spring

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. land — ground
  3. cell — a phone
  4. ground — a position
  5. spring — of water
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. land — a country
  9. mate — a friend
  10. spring — the season
  11. spring — a coil
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. bear — the animal
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. land — to come down
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. ground — the earth
  20. ground — crushed
  21. cell — in biology
  22. mate — a partner
  23. mate — to breed
  24. bear — the animal

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