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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. chair — a leader
  3. spell — a short time
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. mark — a trace
  7. clip — to cut
  8. shower — rain
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. track — to keep track
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. track — a song
  13. shower — to wash
  14. spell — magic
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. mark — a grade
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. clip — for paper
  20. track — a path
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. spell — letters
  23. branch — a division
  24. clip — a video

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