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 116 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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. squash — the sport
  3. drill — a practice
  4. branch — a division
  5. hand — help
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. chip — for betting
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. tear — from crying
  10. sharp — clever
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. wake — a trail
  15. drill — the tool
  16. hand — in cards
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. drill — army training
  19. tear — to rip
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. squash — to crush
  22. tear — from crying
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. sharp — exactly

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