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 120 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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. spring — the season
  4. kid — child
  5. kid — to tease
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. branch — a division
  11. chest — a box
  12. bat — the animal
  13. chest — of your body
  14. scale — in music
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. chest — of your body
  17. spring — of water
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. scale — size or range
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. stand — to bear
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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