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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. last — to go on
  4. last — finally
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. row — to paddle
  8. kid — to tease
  9. season — in sport
  10. season — of the year
  11. saw — the tool
  12. rash — a series
  13. saw — the tool
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. kid — child
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. mate — a friend
  19. rash — hasty
  20. mate — a partner
  21. branch — a division
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. row — a line
  24. last — final

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