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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. cell — in biology
  3. swing — in golf
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. spring — a coil
  7. prune — to trim
  8. swing — music
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. prune — to trim
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. game — wild animals
  14. cell — a phone
  15. game — a match
  16. spring — of water
  17. branch — a division
  18. spring — the season

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