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: chip · trunk · straw · prune · branch · rule · mate · cold

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. rule — a law
  3. chip — to eat
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. mate — a partner
  6. prune — to trim
  7. branch — a division
  8. cold — an illness
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. prune — to trim
  15. rule — government
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. mate — to breed
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. mate — a friend
  23. rule — to rule out
  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