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: rash · snap · branch · trunk · hand · pitcher · bat · spell

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. branch — a division
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. snap — to click
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. rash — hasty
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. spell — letters
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. hand — in cards
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. spell — magic
  19. spell — a short time
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. hand — help
  23. rash — a series
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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