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 · fork · ball · branch · bat · net · mouse · roll

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  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. ball — a great time
  2. bat — the animal
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. chest — a box
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. net — after costs
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. net — in sport
  11. net — for catching
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. roll — a cake
  14. roll — a list
  15. fork — in a road
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. ball — a dance
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. branch — a division
  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