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: pound · roll · face · trunk · cold · swing · rock · kid

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. face — to point toward
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. cold — not warm
  5. pound — a weight
  6. swing — to play on
  7. cold — an illness
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. swing — in golf
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. face — to confront
  12. roll — a cake
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. roll — a list
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. rock — music
  20. kid — to tease
  21. rock — a stone
  22. face — part of the head
  23. swing — music
  24. roll — on a roll

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