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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. hand — in cards
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. game — wild animals
  5. last — final
  6. march — the month
  7. bass — low music
  8. last — finally
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. last — to go on
  11. march — the month
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. bass — the fish
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. hand — help
  19. game — a match
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. chair — a leader
  22. march — music
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. hand — part of the body

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