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

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. net — in sport
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. staff — a stick
  6. staff — employees
  7. wind — moving air
  8. season — in sport
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. net — after costs
  12. staff — employees
  13. clip — for paper
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. net — for catching
  16. rash — a series
  17. clip — to cut
  18. wind — moving air
  19. bank — for money
  20. clip — a video
  21. bank — for money
  22. rash — hasty
  23. branch — a division
  24. bank — of a river

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