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: cap · trunk · swing · fan · clip · coach · branch · tear

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. tear — to rip
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. branch — a division
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. swing — music
  8. cap — of ice
  9. cap — a lid
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. swing — to play on
  12. swing — in golf
  13. clip — for paper
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. clip — to cut
  20. tear — from crying
  21. cap — a hat
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. clip — a video
  24. tear — from crying

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