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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: arm · chest · track · branch · rash · pitcher · court · mine

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. chest — of your body
  3. court — for sport
  4. branch — a division
  5. chest — a box
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. chest — of your body
  9. court — of law
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. track — to keep track
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. rash — hasty
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. track — a song
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. court — of a king
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. rash — a series
  24. mine — for digging

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