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: saw · calf · chest · wake · branch · spring · court · ground

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. ground — a position
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. wake — a trail
  5. ground — crushed
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. court — of a king
  9. saw — the tool
  10. branch — a division
  11. spring — the season
  12. spring — of water
  13. chest — a box
  14. ground — the earth
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. court — for sport
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. court — of law
  19. spring — a coil
  20. chest — of your body
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. saw — the tool
  24. calf — a young animal

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