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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. fork — in a road
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. branch — a division
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. row — a line
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. spring — a coil
  10. spring — of water
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. clip — a video
  13. clip — to cut
  14. craft — a skill
  15. rule — a law
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. rule — government
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. clip — for paper
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. craft — boats
  24. row — to paddle

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