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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. swing — in golf
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. field — for sport
  9. field — farmland
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. spring — the season
  13. spring — a coil
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. rush — hurry
  17. field — a subject
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. spring — of water
  20. branch — a division
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. swing — music
  24. branch — of a tree

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