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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. mark — a trace
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. deal — to handle
  6. cold — an illness
  7. kid — child
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. cold — not warm
  10. chest — of your body
  11. mark — a grade
  12. branch — a division
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. chest — a box
  18. kid — to tease
  19. rule — government
  20. chest — of your body
  21. rule — a law
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. branch — of a tree

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