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: pitcher · bat · fall · bark · capital · trunk · chair · squash

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. fall — to drop
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. bat — the animal
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. fall — to drop
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. squash — the sport
  11. chair — a leader
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. fall — the season
  14. bark — to shout
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. capital — a city
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. capital — money
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. squash — to crush
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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