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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  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. staff — employees
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. file — a tool
  4. file — a document
  5. wound — an injury
  6. staff — a stick
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. wound — an injury
  10. branch — a division
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. mine — for digging
  13. staff — employees
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. squash — the sport
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. root — of a word
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. root — of a plant
  21. squash — to crush
  22. root — the cause
  23. file — a line of people
  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