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: trunk · cell · net · rule · pop · branch · racket · cold

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. pop — music
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. rule — government
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. net — for catching
  9. net — in sport
  10. net — after costs
  11. cell — in biology
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. branch — a division
  14. pop — to visit
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cold — not warm
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. pop — soda
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. rule — a law
  23. cold — an illness
  24. branch — of a tree

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