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 116 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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. fork — in a road
  5. pop — to visit
  6. pitch — completely
  7. capital — a city
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. cold — an illness
  10. scale — in music
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. branch — a division
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. scale — size or range
  21. pop — music
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. capital — money
  24. cold — not warm

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