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 120 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: ball · chest · pitch · chair · band · snap · fall · branch

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. chair — a leader
  3. ball — a dance
  4. fall — to drop
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. chest — of your body
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. snap — to click
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. band — a music group
  11. pitch — completely
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. branch — a division
  14. band — a ring
  15. ball — a great time
  16. chest — of your body
  17. fall — to drop
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. fall — the season
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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