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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. bass — the fish
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. season — in sport
  8. season — of the year
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. file — a line of people
  11. clip — to cut
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. clip — for paper
  15. bark — to shout
  16. bass — low music
  17. file — a document
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. stem — to come from
  20. file — a tool
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. clip — a video

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