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: chest · vault · rash · press · branch · kid · swing · last

  1. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. chest — of your body
  3. last — final
  4. branch — a division
  5. rash — hasty
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. swing — to play on
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. press — to push
  10. swing — in golf
  11. swing — music
  12. kid — to tease
  13. chest — of your body
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. last — to go on
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. press — newspapers
  18. kid — child
  19. last — finally
  20. press — a publisher
  21. vault — a safe
  22. chest — a box
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. rash — a series

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