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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. spell — letters
  3. band — a music group
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. field — for sport
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. lean — thin
  8. ball — a great time
  9. stem — to come from
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. band — a ring
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. spell — magic
  14. fall — to drop
  15. field — farmland
  16. branch — a division
  17. fall — the season
  18. spell — a short time
  19. ball — a dance
  20. lean — to bend
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. field — a subject
  24. stem — a stem cell

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