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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. hand — help
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. bat — the animal
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. branch — a division
  7. kid — to tease
  8. swing — in golf
  9. stand — to bear
  10. swing — music
  11. bark — to shout
  12. fine — high quality
  13. hand — in cards
  14. kid — child
  15. swing — to play on
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. fine — all right
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. stand — on your feet

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