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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. branch — a division
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. file — a tool
  6. degree — an amount
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. tear — from crying
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. tear — from crying
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. file — a document
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — the tool
  19. shower — rain
  20. degree — from a university
  21. shower — to wash
  22. degree — temperature
  23. file — a line of people
  24. fork — in a road

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