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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. branch — a division
  3. hand — help
  4. rule — a law
  5. spell — a short time
  6. pit — a hole
  7. band — a music group
  8. rule — government
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. bore — to tire
  11. track — a path
  12. spell — magic
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. pit — in a race
  19. hand — in cards
  20. bore — to drill
  21. spell — letters
  22. band — a ring
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. track — to keep track

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