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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. hand — help
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. last — finally
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. last — final
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. club — a group
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. bat — the animal
  12. last — to go on
  13. field — farmland
  14. tube — a container
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. club — for dancing
  17. club — for golf
  18. field — for sport
  19. field — a subject
  20. branch — a division
  21. mark — a trace
  22. hand — in cards
  23. tube — the underground
  24. mark — a grade

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