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 · prune · coach · bay · squash · last · branch · row

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. last — final
  4. branch — a division
  5. row — a line
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. squash — to crush
  8. prune — to trim
  9. squash — the sport
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. last — finally
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. row — to paddle
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. last — to go on
  20. prune — to trim
  21. chest — a box
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. chest — of your body

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