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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. craft — a skill
  3. cell — in biology
  4. can — a tin
  5. can — to be able to
  6. shower — to wash
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. bat — the animal
  12. branch — a division
  13. cell — a phone
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. craft — boats
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. wake — a trail
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. squash — to crush
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. shower — rain
  23. can — a tin
  24. squash — the vegetable

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