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: cold · present · bat · arm · prune · track · staff · branch

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. prune — to trim
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. present — there
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. staff — employees
  9. present — the time now
  10. cold — an illness
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. branch — a division
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. staff — a stick
  15. track — to keep track
  16. staff — employees
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. track — a song
  20. track — a path
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. prune — to trim
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. cold — not warm

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