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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. clip — for paper
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. spell — a short time
  5. swing — to play on
  6. root — the cause
  7. stock — shares
  8. land — to come down
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. dip — to sink
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. branch — a division
  13. swing — music
  14. root — of a plant
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. stock — goods
  17. swing — in golf
  18. root — of a word
  19. clip — to cut
  20. spell — magic
  21. spell — letters
  22. clip — a video
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. land — a country

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