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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. stem — to come from
  3. branch — a division
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. face — to confront
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. chair — a leader
  11. face — part of the head
  12. pop — to visit
  13. pop — soda
  14. face — to point toward
  15. pop — music
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. spring — of water
  20. spring — a coil
  21. squash — the sport
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. spring — the season

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