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 116 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: trunk · swing · ground · content · branch · prune · net · stem

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. ground — crushed
  6. net — in sport
  7. content — happy
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. ground — the earth
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. swing — to play on
  15. prune — to trim
  16. stem — to come from
  17. swing — music
  18. content — the amount
  19. net — for catching
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. ground — a position
  22. swing — in golf
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. branch — a division

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