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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. wound — an injury
  5. branch — a division
  6. lie — to recline
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. field — for sport
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. bass — low music
  13. field — a subject
  14. clip — a video
  15. row — a line
  16. clip — for paper
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. wound — an injury
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. row — to paddle
  22. clip — to cut
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. bass — 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