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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. wake — a trail
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. branch — a division
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. cell — a phone
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. track — to keep track
  13. ground — a position
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. track — a path
  17. cell — in biology
  18. track — a song
  19. ground — the earth
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. ground — crushed
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. mine — an explosive

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