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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. spring — the season
  5. spring — of water
  6. spring — a coil
  7. game — wild animals
  8. root — of a word
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. mine — for digging
  13. game — a match
  14. ball — a dance
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. ball — a great time
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. branch — a division
  20. track — to keep track
  21. root — of a plant
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. track — a path
  24. root — the cause

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