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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. track — to keep track
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. hand — in cards
  5. degree — from a university
  6. hand — help
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. spell — magic
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. net — in sport
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. net — for catching
  14. track — a path
  15. scale — in music
  16. spell — letters
  17. net — after costs
  18. track — a song
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. scale — size or range
  21. degree — an amount
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. spell — a short time
  24. degree — temperature

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