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: club · wax · trunk · land · swing · spring · court · face

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. land — a country
  3. court — for sport
  4. club — a group
  5. court — of law
  6. court — of a king
  7. spring — the season
  8. land — to come down
  9. club — for dancing
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. swing — to play on
  12. land — ground
  13. club — for golf
  14. face — part of the head
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. wax — to grow
  17. face — to point toward
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. face — to confront
  21. swing — music
  22. spring — of water
  23. swing — in golf
  24. spring — a coil

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