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 116 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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. march — music
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. cold — an illness
  5. branch — a division
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. cold — not warm
  10. game — wild animals
  11. last — to go on
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. march — the month
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. bark — to shout
  16. last — finally
  17. chip — to eat
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. game — a match
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. last — final
  22. march — the month
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. wake — a trail

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