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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. key — the most important part
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. scale — in music
  6. chest — of your body
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. chest — of your body
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. prune — to trim
  13. prune — to trim
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bat — the animal
  17. squash — to crush
  18. key — in music
  19. scale — size or range
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. branch — a division
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. chest — a box
  24. squash — the 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