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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. swing — in golf
  4. swing — to play on
  5. swing — music
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. land — ground
  8. court — for sport
  9. tear — from crying
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. field — a subject
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. court — of law
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. court — of a king
  18. branch — a division
  19. tear — to rip
  20. land — to come down
  21. field — farmland
  22. land — a country
  23. chair — a leader
  24. field — for sport

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