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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. shower — to wash
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. wake — a trail
  10. tear — from crying
  11. scale — in music
  12. shower — rain
  13. press — to push
  14. clip — to cut
  15. branch — a division
  16. tear — from crying
  17. press — a publisher
  18. tear — to rip
  19. clip — for paper
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. press — newspapers
  22. scale — size or range
  23. clip — a video
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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