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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. swing — to play on
  4. bound — tied together
  5. sharp — clever
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. bound — obliged
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. cold — an illness
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. date — the fruit
  14. cold — not warm
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. swing — music
  18. bound — certain
  19. mark — a grade
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. swing — in golf
  22. branch — a division
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. mark — a trace

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