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 120 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: ball · pitch · pass · branch · fall · kid · chest · mark

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. fall — the season
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. kid — to tease
  7. ball — a dance
  8. pass — a permit
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — of your body
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. fall — to drop
  13. ball — a great time
  14. mark — a grade
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. pitch — completely
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. kid — child
  20. chest — a box
  21. mark — a trace
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. branch — a division
  24. ball — a round shape

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