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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. branch — a division
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. degree — an amount
  5. stock — goods
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. spring — a coil
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. degree — from a university
  12. stock — shares
  13. degree — temperature
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. spring — of water
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. spring — the season
  19. mine — for digging
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. can — to be able to
  22. can — a tin
  23. can — a tin
  24. mine — an explosive

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