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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  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. jam — to spread on bread
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. fork — in a road
  7. cold — not warm
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. race — a contest
  10. cold — an illness
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. branch — a division
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. race — humankind
  21. snap — to click
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. race — the arms race
  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