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: court · cold · trunk · wound · mark · shower · tube · stick

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. shower — to wash
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. court — of law
  6. mark — a trace
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. mark — a grade
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. shower — rain
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. tube — a container
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. tube — the underground
  17. cold — not warm
  18. court — of a king
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. wound — an injury
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. wound — an injury
  24. court — for sport

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