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 124 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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. craft — boats
  3. file — a document
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. saw — the tool
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. craft — a skill
  8. file — a line of people
  9. roll — a list
  10. branch — a division
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. saw — the tool
  14. cold — not warm
  15. file — a tool
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. mate — to breed
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cold — an illness
  22. mate — a friend
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. roll — a cake

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