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: kid · toast · kick · bat · wound · plane · trunk · last

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. toast — bread
  3. kid — to tease
  4. last — finally
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. bat — the animal
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. kid — child
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. last — final
  15. plane — a tool
  16. wound — an injury
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. kick — in football

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