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 120 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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. cold — not warm
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. wind — moving air
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. mark — a trace
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wound — an injury
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. wound — an injury
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. mark — a grade
  22. branch — a division
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. wind — to turn a key

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