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: court · bark · prune · present · wind · chest · cap · roll

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. cap — a hat
  4. roll — a cake
  5. cap — a lid
  6. court — for sport
  7. present — the time now
  8. chest — a box
  9. prune — to trim
  10. present — a gift
  11. wind — moving air
  12. bark — to shout
  13. court — of law
  14. present — there
  15. wind — moving air
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. roll — a list
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. cap — of ice
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. court — of a king
  24. chest — of your body

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