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 · shower · branch · mine · mark · spring · craft · pitcher

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. chest — of your body
  3. mine — for digging
  4. branch — a division
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. craft — a skill
  7. chest — a box
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. mark — a trace
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. spring — the season
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. shower — rain
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. mark — a grade
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. spring — of water
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. shower — to wash
  22. chest — of your body
  23. spring — a coil
  24. craft — a handicraft

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