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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. branch — a division
  4. rush — hurry
  5. degree — an amount
  6. degree — temperature
  7. squash — the sport
  8. stem — to come from
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. squash — to crush
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. tube — a container
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. degree — from a university
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. shower — rain
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. shower — to wash

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