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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. land — to come down
  3. land — a country
  4. branch — a division
  5. fall — to drop
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. stem — to come from
  14. track — a path
  15. track — a song
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. cell — a phone
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. track — to keep track
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. fall — the season
  22. wax — to grow
  23. land — ground
  24. cell — in biology

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