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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. hand — help
  5. hand — in cards
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. branch — a division
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. perch — the fish
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. bat — the animal
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. hand — part of the body

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