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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. spell — letters
  4. mate — to breed
  5. mate — a partner
  6. scale — size or range
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. mate — a friend
  9. tear — from crying
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. tear — to rip
  12. kid — child
  13. track — a song
  14. track — a path
  15. spell — magic
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. branch — a division
  18. scale — in music
  19. track — to keep track
  20. spell — a short time
  21. tear — from crying
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. bark — to shout

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