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: cell · march · land · bat · branch · last · chair · scale

  1. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. scale — size or range
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. chair — a leader
  7. land — ground
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. last — finally
  11. land — to come down
  12. branch — a division
  13. last — final
  14. bat — the animal
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. march — the month
  17. last — to go on
  18. cell — a phone
  19. march — the month
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. land — a country
  23. cell — in biology
  24. march — music

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