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: season · file · mug · row · bat · branch · mine · prune

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. prune — to trim
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. file — a tool
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. branch — a division
  7. season — in sport
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. row — to paddle
  10. file — a line of people
  11. row — a line
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. file — a document
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. prune — to trim
  16. season — of the year
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. mug — to rob
  19. mug — a cup
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. mug — a face
  22. mine — for digging
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. bat — for baseball

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