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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. chest — of your body
  3. pitch — completely
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. craft — boats
  6. kid — child
  7. chest — of your body
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. craft — a skill
  14. kid — to tease
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. pop — to visit
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. pop — music
  19. branch — a division
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. bat — the animal
  23. pop — soda
  24. chest — a box

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