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: cabinet · ground · wound · season · branch · chest · swing · nail

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. chest — of your body
  4. swing — music
  5. ground — the earth
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. branch — a division
  9. swing — to play on
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. season — of the year
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. chest — of your body
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. swing — in golf
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — an injury
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. ground — a position
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. season — in sport
  23. chest — a box
  24. nail — for a hammer

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