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

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. chest — of your body
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. cold — an illness
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. chest — a box
  8. cell — in biology
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. cell — a phone
  12. craft — a skill
  13. branch — a division
  14. chest — of your body
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. cold — not warm
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. hand — in cards
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. prune — to trim
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. craft — boats
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. prune — to trim

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