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 120 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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. squash — to crush
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. game — wild animals
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. game — a match
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. degree — temperature
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. wound — an injury
  17. degree — an amount
  18. wake — a trail
  19. branch — a division
  20. wound — an injury
  21. degree — from a university
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. squash — the sport
  24. perch — the fish

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