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: court · straw · rash · scale · shower · trunk · branch · mate

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. mate — a partner
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. branch — a division
  7. scale — in music
  8. shower — rain
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. scale — size or range
  13. mate — a friend
  14. court — for sport
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. court — of law
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. mate — to breed
  21. court — of a king
  22. rash — a series
  23. shower — to wash
  24. straw — dry grass

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