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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. tear — from crying
  3. branch — a division
  4. capital — money
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. cell — in biology
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. cell — a phone
  10. capital — a city
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. stem — to come from
  16. charge — a price
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. tear — to rip
  19. charge — in control
  20. tear — from crying
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. charge — electricity
  24. straw — dry grass

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